Eternal
by Pyro-Link
Summary: He had saved the world, hadn't he? Everything had been at peace. Yet, now he saw himself once more, with Warpstar in paw, standing amongst his friends and enemies against a foe who was thought to be gone, now seeking revenge...-REWRITE COMING!-
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Yes, Pyro-Link here with my first fic on ! Quite obviously, this is a Kirby fic that I've been thinking about for a long time. I've got the majority of it planned out, but I'm still going through multiple scenarios for _how_ I want some things to happen.**

**Lastly: this fic will be a 'post everything' fic. Meaning that it takes place after the end of all of the games that have come out so far, as well as after the anime-verse. So, now that that's taken care of, let's get on to the story, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Kirby Series, its characters, or its epicness. I do own the plot of this story, however.**

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Prologue

_'Destruction...triumph.'_

_'Pain...joy.'_

_'Failure...'_

_The being's eye brightened in the dim void. 'Success...' Opening to its full extent the color of its iris stuck out through the empty space – bright, entrancing, _vengeful._ 'and soon,' it thought. 'revenge.'_

_Such contrasting views, vividly seen through two separate views; which was a feat for one as himself. Contrast. Like good and evil. Which ones described whom? The answer lied with the being. His, and his alone. As in the twisted reality that was his own, he knew what he desired; and what the outcome of these events could – a pause – _would_ be. _

_Looking to the vastness of his world, he surveyed his domain. 'Lacking,' he though. 'Of what I deserve.'_

_He had almost obtained what he had craved for so long. Since the first battle, to his most recent. It was after that recent battle that he had felt an emotion so foreign to him, so strange. True lust; as well as a pulsing pain. It dripped off of him, seemingly lavishing over his once pure soul. Staining the bright being._

_It was this that fed his anger over initial reaction, before he tamed the red flames and converted them into an endless source of drive and determination. The description soon brought an unwelcome feeling over the reminiscing being._

_Red...' his bright iris disappeared, the once equally illuminated red space mimicking it; dimming as well._

_He had always hated the color red._

* * *

**Short, I know. But, I just wanted to set the tone. And, in reality, I don't think it really didn't need any more. Well, guys, tell me what you think! Cookie goes to who can guess who it is! :P**


	2. Beginnings in the Night

**Thanks for the reviews on the prologue! **

**sunechire: lol, thanks. I'll post them hopefully one a week, maybe two. **

**Medalis: Thanks for the review! It's neither of those two, but, I'll reveal who it is...someday. Eh, I hate grammer...**

**It's summer, so slushies go to both of you for reviewing! :D **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Kirby series or its characters. The only thing I own are the plot, this story, and sorry excuse for a keyboard. -_-;**

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Beginnings in the Night

The shimmering streaks reflected clearly in his blue eyes.

Kirby, like times before, was star gazing outside in one of the many vast green fields that Dreamland was known for. The grass beneath his red shoes was cold to the touch and blew gently in the continuous breeze that blew throughout the land. Tonight, though, was special. The glistening tails in the sky affirmed to that, showing the meteor shower at its zenith.

The pink ball, Kirby, hopped around playfully, entertained by the display. The scene reminded him of many good memories. Memories of the adventures he had taken to save his world, as well as just the memory of the stars themselves. Knowledge that throughout it all, they were still there to shine brightly. The scene in particular reminded him of the night he met Ribbon, a small fairy from Ripple Star, a planet not to far from his own Popstar.

At first, the memory brought on sadness. Sadness that the cherubic fairy couldn't be right here watching the sight with him. But, he at least had the blessing of knowing that she was no longer in danger. That their _galaxy_ wasn't in danger. As the meteors he saw now were definitely not the Crystal Shard pieces from when it had been shattered so long ago.

The adventure they had gone on wasn't all bad, as they, along with Waddle Dee, Adeleine, and, (most surprisingly), King Dedede had grown close to each other. Kirby sighed wistfully. It had been nice traveling with friends. Although, the prideful penguin had denied afterwards being friends with Kirby, stating that he was only getting revenge on Dark Matter for possessing him; however, Kirby kept up an optimistic smile and heart.

He squealed joyously as an exceptionally bright meteor came cascading down to Popstar, gracing the atmosphere with an icy white that burned the darkness around it; not unlike the countless stars that dotted the skies.

They had always made the star warrior feel warm inside, at home, even when he was out on another journey to save his danger-prone galaxy. There was just something about those glistening pieces of space that made everything feel right. Just something that made the world feel timeless; eternal.

Kirby hopped around a bit energetically, bringing the lost warmth back to his wet shoes. Maybe he should go visit Ribbon. It was possible that this same meteor shower was being viewed by her own eyes on her planet.

Taking one last glance to the sky, he ran off to go on a walk and possibly to go get his Warpstar to take it on a ride through the night air...

He halted.

He blinked once, twice. The visage of a bright object remained blurred in his eyelids. Turning, Kirby made a small gasp. In the sky before him, something that definitely wasn't a meteor was hurtling toward Popstar. It was a wonder that it hadn't burned in the atmosphere.

Guessing that it was some sort of ship, Kirby ran toward it in vain.

Someone was bound to be inside of it, and Kirby was determined to help them in any way he could.

Up on a grassy ridge a ways away from Kirby, three more star gazers had beheld the unusual sight and were also soon racing toward it. Two being on foot, just managing to keep up with the third, who was seemingly effortlessly gliding mere inches off the ground, courtesy of his dragon-like wings.

Sword and Blade, for it was them, exchanged glances as they loyally followed their Lord, Meta Knight. The latter, Blade, looked up at the plummeting ship, a puzzled look growing on her face beneath her helmet. But, instead of questioning the Knight ahead, she kept silent and used this energy to will her feet forward more rapidly. Meta Knight was not known to appreciate senseless questioning.

Her mental twin, Sword, had already adjusted his pace to match Blade's, without even a second's glance as they soon entered Wispy's Woods. They raced agilely through the dark trees and bushes, the leaves rustling at their passage.

Meta Knight turned his glowing eyes upward and immediately grimaced. The ship, (which was not far from the ground by now), appeared to be heading straight for a cluster of trees. He was surprised, however, when it veered off suddenly and crashed into a small clearing, digging up the ground beneath.

Reaching the smoking ship moments later, the Knight transformed his wings once more into his cape and, upon looking at the ship questioned whether to even pull out his sword, Galaxia, at all.

It was a pink thing.

Roundish with a dome on the upper half, and what looked like flower petals protruding all around it.

As Meta Knight eyed it, his eyes burning a thoughtful green, Sword and Blade were taking no chances and already were at a short distance from it, brandishing their swords.

As if in response, the glass dome slowly lifted and two figures, coughing harshly, emerged from the ship. They soon stopped as they looked forward and saw their own frightened reflections looking back at them, split at many angles atop the two opposing warriors swords. The taller figure that had emerged from the ship put her hands in front in defense, muttering to herself.

"There _has_ to be a limit as to how many passes with death you can have in _one hour_..." she paused before beginning again. "H-hey...We don't mean any trouble, we were just looking for -"

"Poyo!"

Everyone turned to see a panting Kirby; who, upon seeing the two characters, seemed to gain all of his energy back and ran toward them. He squealed joyfully at them.

"Riban! Aderain!" The pink fairy came from behind Adeleine and flew up to hug Kirby.

"Kirby! We were looking all over for you!"

This odd reunion was watched by the three Knights, somewhat awkwardly; albeit. Sword and Blade, seeing that there was obviously no danger, sheathed their swords as Meta Knight approached them the newcomers.

"It would be surprising if this was just a random visit," he turned to the crashed ship. Kirby waved to his past mentor in a friendly manner. But it went unnoticed by his eyes as he waited for the painter's response.

She felt intimidated by him.

Ribbon soon came forward, politely bowing in mid air to the Knight, as he appeared to be of high status.

"It's..." she contemplated her words for a moment. "You are right, as much as I wish it wasn't the case. We lost control suddenly, and..." Adeleine continued for her, regaining her confidence.

"We came here to ask for Kirby's help; there's been trouble around the other planets," Meta Knight rested a gloved hand on the pommel of Galaxia. "It's just a precaution, nothing you should be worried about, that is." Hearing this, the silent Kirby looked toward Ribbon worriedly. She returned the look, knowing his thoughts. She held onto one of his paws reassuringly.

"It's unlikely that it's _that_, Kirby," she affirmed it once more, more in an attempt to convince herself rather than him. "It's not Dark Matter." His blue orbs lowered. He wanted to believe in the fairy. He wanted to believe in his friend. Years ago, they had defeated Dark Matter, and its ultimate form, 0². A silent shudder passed through the three.

Meanwhile, though, this conversation peeked the interest of Meta Knight's. He himself had never fought Dark Matter, in any of its forms. It just sounded dark, yet familiar...Had he fought it before? He had definitely heard it in many places. Of its powers and evil. Its power limitless, its evil to be compared to none else. Like Nightmare, (he tensed inwardly), yet so different from him. From just passing knowledge, it was an amazing fact that the young star warrior, Kirby, had managed to defeat such an enemy. It must have been a very powerful and twisted foe.

The blue warrior himself, however, found his own mind questioning the 'had'. It felt like saying night was gone, but it wasn't. It was always there, eying venomously at the dwellers of light. In greed, hatred, and malice.

_Most just don't see it because they aren't looking…_

"Sir?" Sword and Blade approached their Lord, who had been deep in thought for quite some time now. Meta Knight, making his decision, looked toward the three one last time. Then, turning calmly, his cape now secure around him, he left the group and went slowly into the woods. Exchanging brief glances, the remaining knights followed their Lord briskly, leaving the scene as well.

* * *

Large eyes opened in the vastness of space after what seemed like an eternity.

Blinking a couple of times, he looked around, turning rabidly, his mouth agape, revealing vampire fangs. Only one thought remained, dominating and reverberating clearly through his being. Clear in his twisted mind and soul.

_I'm alive?!_

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**Hate it, like it? Think it's the weirdist thing to pop on your moniter? Let me know! **


	3. Unexpected Journey

**sunechire: Thanks for the review again! Ribbon is from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. **

**Juliethebold: Thanks! Gosh, I thought I fixed all of those...I was having difficulties remembering which was a girl, and which was a boy. EDIT: Fixed it!**

**Disclaimer: No, I still do not own the Kirby series or any of its characters. So no use in suing me.**

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Chapter Two: Unexpected Journey

**The Previous Day**

The fairy of Ripple Star awoke, fluttering her eyes open.

Surveying her surroundings, she found that she had fallen asleep while studying (no comma) as the book she had been reading the night before rested open in front of her.

Getting up from her chair and stretching, she looked outside for a clue as to what time it was. She was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only dawn. Going to her small kitchen, she grabbed an apple and went outside to fly around in the morning light.

Passing the castle, she hovered for a few moments, swallowing a bit of the apple.

On either side of the front entrance now stood two male guards, fully alert. They nodded to her as she passed by, though it didn't comfort her in the slightest. The nod showed little caring or warm greeting. It was simply just a nod. Flying over to a hill and landing softly in the green grass, she chewed the apple thoughtfully.

The guards seemed as out of place as ever in the Kingdom on Ripple Star. It didn't matter that they had been here for nearly two years...they still felt new and despite their purpose, the very presence of them made her feel uneasy. They seemed to make the other inhabitants feel safe however, as many of the fairies of the kingdom had let out a sigh of relief when Queen Ripple had announced that they would have guards now in the Kingdom.

_The Queen..._

She finished the apple, leaving the core and lifted off the ground to throw it away.

The Queen, out of everyone (even Ribbon herself), had been the most disturbed over Dark Matter's appearance on Ripple Star, when it was after the Great Crystal. Of which was kept in the depths of the Castle. It was hard to blame her highness, however, as she had been possessed by it for a long time before Kirby, her, and the rest of their group had expelled it from her.

She shivered.

_She _wasn't even sure how long her Highness had been possessed. It must have been a horrible experience to be encased in darkness.

Breaking her from her reminiscing thoughts was a guard, who (Ribbon thought with a moody sort of contempt), over cast her with his shadow, blocking the warm sun. But, regarding the fact that he was only a year or so older than she was and probably envied her freedom, she didn't let the annoyance pass through her eyes. He nodded once toward the castle.

"The Queen wishes to speak with you in fifteen minutes. Come straight to the Throne Room then," affirming that she understood, he flew off back to his post. A sigh escaped from her cherubic features as she flopped down on the plush grass. She might as well take this time to relax.

Ten minutes later, however, she pulled herself up and finding that she was unable to just sit around began to wonder what the Queen wanted. She always got rather antsy when she was asked to just wait. The world isn't waiting, she reasoned, time itself isn't waiting. She might as well just head for the castle. She knew Queen Ripple well, as they were beginning to become close friends. Ribbon knew she wouldn't mind if she came a bit earlier.

Reaching the Castle, she flew soundlessly down the many corridors, going off a mental map to the Throne Room. She landed gently, soon reaching out a hand to knock on the great door.

"Quee-" the words died in her throat.

"I don't see why we shouldn't take some sort of action!" _The Queen, _Ribbon thought. _But, who is she yelling at?_ The Queen of the Ripple Star rarely raised her voice...

"I assure you, _Your Highness_." The fairy involuntarily shivered, her pink hair atop her head standing on end. She guessed it was a high guard, based on how mature his voice sounded. But, his was voice was so..._cold._ She definitely hadn't ever met him before. There was no way in the world's many galaxies she would ever be able to forget a voice like that. Never.

"I have already sent out guards to the locations, and they have given me their confirmation that there is no threat to Ripple Star." the High Guard finished.(who says this line?)Ribbon heard a small sigh from the Queen.

"Fine. You are dismissed." After the Queen's last comment, it took the small fairy a moment to process her words; her mind was racing with the small conversation that had just taken place only a feet away from her with the door being the only barrier.

_What's going on? Why would the guards even be needed to search? C-could there have been, _a gulp. _An attack? Could it have been _–_ ?! _

The click of the door brought her abruptly back to reality. She needed to leave – fast. She flew as quickly as she could behind a nearby plant, somewhat regretting at the given moment her suggestion to the Queen to make the Castle 'more open.' It left no where to hide.

She covered her mouth with a small hand to mute the sound of her panicked breathing. Just the sound of the High Guard's voice was enough to frighten her.

She was relieved, though, to see two guards going down the opposite corridor. She let a small victorious 'yes' out in the thrill of escape – her victory was short lived, however.

She saw, (from her crouched spot on the ground), a pair of lean legs walking in her direction.

_The High Guard!_

He paused in front of the plant, facing – luckily – away from it, looking down the hallway. Peeking through the leaves, she saw a menacing scowl grace his icy lips as he looked outside one of the Castle's many windows, appearing to have a grudge against daylight itself.

But that wasn't what frightened her.

Allowing only a small mental gasp, she surveyed his features: he was the likes of which she had never seen before – but it wasn't meant in a praising manner. He was quite tall and had shockingly icy blue hair that ran down his face in thin streams and flipped upwardly in the back. The blue matched his eye – as he had only one, the other had been covered with a blue patch, similar to a visor. He wore a blue collared shirt as well as white pants. And Ribbon was surprised to see him have no armor on in complete contrast to the other guards, who were decked out completely in their armor.

No wings came from his back, so he couldn't have been a fairy...then what was he?

Then, as if by some acute sense, he turned directly toward her, fixing her in his dark eye.

It made her want to disappear.

To her surprise, he bent down and held out a hand.

"That doesn't look very comfortable," he added in a lighthearted manner, a smile put almost forcefully on his lips. Ribbon wasn't fooled. "Here, let me help you up, there's no need to be afraid." he told her gently. Ribbon took his hand reluctantly and stood up, but was surprised that, despite his voice, he looked only a few years older than the Queen.

After a silent pause, Queen Ripple saved her by calling her in from the Throne Room door.

"Ribbon?" she questioned. The High Guard swiftly released her hand, walking away in a like manner without so much as a word.

"What are you doing? Come on in!" Ribbon nodded numbly and walked slowly into the Throne Room. At the given moment, she didn't quite trust her wings...

Entering the Throne Room with Queen Ripple, who appeared to be pondering over something, Ribbon threw a quick glance around the room before addressing the Queen.

"Queen Ripple?" She turned around to the small fairy, politely allowing her to go on. The pink fairy fingered her name's sake in her hair, casting a look behind at the door.

"Who was that? The High Guard that just left?" she inquired. "I've never seen him before. He's not even a fairy – is he?" Ribbon turned questionably toward the Queen. In response, the older fairy lowering her voice somewhat.

"That's actually part of what I wanted to talk to you about..." she placed a sleeved hand on her chin, contemplating on her choice of words. Ribbon waited patiently. The Queen of Ripple Star took a deep, slow breath.

"How would you feel about taking a trip to Popstar?"

* * *

The Queen, telling her the urgency of the matter, explained why the trip was necessary as they were gathering the supplies she would need for the journey.

"I heard from one of the guards that one by one, all of the monsters from each planet were disappearing..."

Ribbon was confused.

"But, isn't that a good thing?" The Queen shook her head and this question, causing her braids to toss about as she grabbed a camping bag, shortly explaining that it could be a long journey – best to be prepared.

"It could, but," she paused. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about it...I mean, for all of the monsters to just _disappear_? Things don't just happen like that, (comma here) Ribbon. There must always be a balance...of everything," she said this last part beneath her breath. Ribbon, though, pushed this to the back of her mind and thought about her words. She nodded sadly. It was true. It was more than suspicious; it seemed to be almost indisputable proof that her and Kirby's adventures were indeed not over...

Queen Ripple, checking off all of the materials mentally in her head, grabbed the pack and headed for the courtyard behind the Castle.

"I parked a ship behind some trees back here," she explained. Ribbon followed suit, running through her head the mass of things that had happened in a mere few minutes. Waiting until Queen Ripple had packed everything into the ship, she asked Queen Ripple something that had been bothering her.

"Queen Ripple, you never answered my question: who as that blue-haired guy?" the Queen's brows knit together as she looked up at the sky in thought.

"He is, as you said, the High Guard," she started. She looked down uncertainly. "But, other than that, I'm not even quite sure how he initially got here; he won't give a name. He was just there one day, asking if we needed his help. It gives me a bad feeling, though..."

"Me too," Ribbon agreed quickly, remembering the encounter she had had not too long ago. She looked at the ship. She was going to Popstar! This thought brightened her features a little as she prompted the dome to open and hopped in. She started the engine.

"Don't worry, Queen Ripple," she called. "I'll find, Kirby – he'll fix this...he'll help us!" and, with that, she sped off into the sky.

Queen Ripple waved.

She was hopeful – no, confident that Ribbon would do it. She walked back toward the castle, oblivious to a figure's eye watching her.

"Interesting..."

* * *

The journey went smoothly for Ribbon. She had already made it to Popstar, making excellent time. At the present moment, it was just a matter of searching for the pink star warrior, which would be a harder task now that night had fallen. Looking up in the ship, she gaped in awe at the sky – many bright streaks were flying down like rain.

"It's so beautiful..."

Her eyes traced every path the meteorites graced, every tail.

She looked down abruptly, mentally slapping herself for forgetting about the fact that she was _supposed_ to be driving.

Too late.

Letting out a yelp of fear and surprise, she saw the ground come up to meet her swiftly and painfully, jolting her entire body. Digging up dirt along the way, the ship plowed a trail at least five yards long. The vehicle's slow grinding finally halted to a stop as Ribbon shook the stars from her head and looked up, getting a pleasant surprise in the process.

"What in the – ?!" a girl with short black hair and a red beret stood in front of the crashed Fairy Ship, looking very reminiscent of a deer caught in headlights...which was ironically very close to the reality, as the white of her eyes were liquid in the lights of the ship. Recognition soon set in after initial shock when she saw who was piloting the vehicle that nearly ran her over.

"Ribbon? Is that you?" Ribbon hopped out and lifted up into the air. Her legs still shook from the aftershock. She hugged her friend.

"Adeleine!"

The older girl patted the fairy's back. "Not sure about the entrance," the artist said, glancing at the wrecked ship. "But, it's nice to see you, too. What brings you back to Popstar?" The fairy loosened her grip almost immediately, letting go all together reluctantly. The joy of reuniting with her friend subsided as the task at hand once again came into view.

"The Queen of Ripple Star – Queen Ripple – sent me to find Kirby..." Adeleine raised a brow. Ribbon continued, "She got word from one of the guards that suddenly all of the monsters over the planets had suddenly just disappeared," suspecting Adeleine was about to counter with the same response she had said to the Queen, she amended, "She found it suspicious that they would vanish so suddenly. It made her worried. Especially with what's going on at Ripple Star as of late. So, she sent me to get Kirby. If anything, as a precaution." The fairy took in a deep breath.

"I don't want a repeat of last time."

The painter nodded knowingly, but then was confused when some of the other words sunk in. "What's going on on your planet?" Ribbon down cast her eyes.

"I wouldn't say that it's something too suspicious but...there is this High Guard now working at the Castle," Adeleine listened patiently as she went on, "The Queen decided around two years ago that having guards in the Castle would give peace to everyone after Dark Matter. But, this High Guard..." she paused once more, trying to give words to her encounter. "He isn't even a fairy; looked strange, too. I think that he may be trying to deceive us – most likely the Queen," she said, remembering his frighteningly split personality he had displayed the previous day. "All I know for sure is that whoever he is, he's not trying to bring peace."

Adeleine nodded once more, mulling this over. But, she soon got a broad smile on her face. "Hey," she said, gathering the easel she had been working on before the fairy had come. "Why don't I come along with you? I'm sure I could help just like last time!" Ribbon's sad face brightened immediately at the prospect of Adeleine coming along. She was like a big sister to her. She turned to the ship...

It was destroyed. The fairy frowned once more.

"Well, unless you have another ship...We're going to have to walk," Adeleine, though, donned a confident smile as she set up her art supplies once more.

"No, but I can make one."

* * *

After a toiling hour of work, Adeleine had created a replica of the ship. Ribbon was awe-struck. The painter had improved immensely since the last time they had seen each other. The ship looked as real as the one that now lay half buried in the ground. As if it had been brought back from time – good and new. Adeleine was already putting her supplies in the new ship.

"Well, don't just gawk at it – let's get going!" Ribbon obliged, and, having retrieved all she could from the wreckage of the previous ship, she got in and turned on the engine. Countless numbers of lights brightly flickered on as they rose into the air.

Deciding quickly that if they got to a higher altitude their search would be easier, Ribbon balanced the ship at a steady height before turning off the boosters and relying on the petals on the outside of the ship to keep them air borne.

It wasn't long before Adeleine shouted, pointing downward at a vast field. Below, the bright pink ball could be seen below in contrast to the dark green. Smiling, the fairy began to descend from the air. Her fingers whizzed expertly across the controls, the lights flickering on and off in a pattern-less fashion. And then it stopped.

Her hands froze in midair before going limp along with the rest of her numbing body. She fell forward, only to be saved from a bruise on the forehead from Adeleine.

"Ribbon?!"

The fairy appeared to have passed out. Feeling gravity pull steadily heavier on her, she reached for the controls, balancing Ribbon on her shoulder.

She grit her teeth.

She may have 'made' the ship, but she was drawing what she could tell from the wreckage. She had no idea how to pilot this foreign ship. But, she had no time to think logically on how, as the trees of Whispy's Woods were all too soon to greet her.

So, with sudden determination and luck, she jerked at what looked like a steering wheel and twisted it to the right, guiding it into a clearing.

The ground came up quickly, a massive jolt running up the painter's body.

She was suddenly thankful for the excessive amount of padding on the interior of the ship.

Seeing smoke arise from the cockpit, she shook Ribbon hastily, and luckily she woke up after a few shakes and, upon seeing what happened, nearly punched the button that raised the glass dome open.

Coughing as they jumped out, they were met with their own reflections. Adeleine began to regret her decision to accompany the fairy, muttering to herself.

"There _has_ to be a limit as to how many passes with death you can have in _one hour_..."

* * *

**Author's Note: Ello, everyone! Yah, I know: what's with the filler chapter being the SECOND chapter. ^^; Heh, well it would have seemed really odd if it was put any further in the story, so...here it is. XP I don't want to seem selfish here, but, review please! I really want to know what you guys think of this! **

**Also, I thought this chapter was pretty long, but there was really no way to cut it into two. The next will be shorter, promise!**


	4. Reminiscent Nights

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Kirby Series...once again. -3-;;**

* * *

Chapter Three: Reminiscent Knights

A shuffle in the grass brought Kirby's attention toward the three knights.

With one last thoughtful look, and a tightening of his cape around him, Meta Knight exited the clearing and went into the dark woods. The pink creature shot out a stubby paw in small protest.

"Poyo!" The clink of metal paused for a moment, and the Knight's glowing yellow eyes soon appeared, piercing through the dark.

"If the circumstance isn't dire," Kirby's eyes down cast, knowing the path his former mentor would take. "Then I have no need to accompany," he looked to Ribbon and Adeleine, and, out of his general courtesy, asked, "I trust you two will be fine?" Adeleine nodded confidently while Ribbon did the same, a bit distracted; albeit. She was getting anxious to get going. She met the Knight's gaze tracing over to the wrecked ship.

"And your ship?" he nodded toward it. The painter held her brush up, gesturing to it.

"I can just paint another," she said confidently. The Knight regarded her now with some interest, but soon, motioning slightly to his followers, left. Sword and Blade glanced at them a final time, saying varying phrases of 'good luck', and soon hurried after their Lord. Kirby sighed, looking at where they had left. The grass itself left little trace of them even being there. Adeleine put a hand on him.

"We'll be fine," she told him in a carefree way. She turned her face toward the sky, looking at the stars. The meteor shower was just ending. Only a few rogue lights gracing the sky a final time for the dwellers of Popstar. The pink ball looked up as well with his own blue orbs.

"Besides, we've saved the galaxy before, right?"

* * *

"Sir, was is it alright to leave them?"

Meta Knight paused. He had felt an uneasiness around the two younger knights minutes after they left. It was inevitable that it would slip out of one of them. Turning to Sword, he regarded him calmly.

"Kirby is fully capable of helping them," he stated, reminiscing back to when Kirby was fighting almost daily against Nightmare's monsters, that the King – Dedede respectively – ordered relentlessly. No matter how ridiculous or costly (even if the penguin more times than one eluded paying for the said demons). It had been so long since then...

He snapped back quickly to reality.

"He proved himself to everyone in that final fight with Nightmare," leaving it at that, he looked forward once more. The night sky looked to be waning already as the sun seemed almost ready to make its return trip. "Come, we should find a place to rest."

Walking toward the edge of the woods, they found a spot dotted with a few small trees, a trickling river, and, to the farther edge, some rough dirt. The place also had numerous large boulders, looking almost out of place with their crescent shape; which were not odd in Dreamland. The land was already filled with stranger things such as star shaped lakes, striped hills, and candy clouds. The place was, after all, Dreamland.

Meta Knight sat down on the ground, leaning against a rock as he unraveled his cape, careful with its silk.

Soon, Blade set down some sticks that she had picked up on the way, placing them appropriately in the dirt patch. Sword then set to making the fire, rubbing vigorously a stick between his hands on a rock.

A small spark soon began to flit playfully, scampering across the sticks previously placed there. The sparks soon caught on, creating small flames that quickly grew into a well sized fire.

Meta Knight let out an inaudible sigh from beneath his mask, feeling the warmth pass on to his cape and mask. Sleeping in the warmth from a real fire had always been better than sleeping indoors in his opinion.

Sword and Blade, exhaustion finally coming to them by now, sat down as well. Each against a boulder similar to the skilled Knight seated across from them.

After only moments, Sword and Blade had both nearly fallen asleep, there breathing being deep and relaxed. Meta Knight, meanwhile, gazed intently at the flames. But (as his golden eyes seemed unmoving upon them), the flames themselves were not the point of his interest. Instead, the Knight was thinking of other things...

On a sudden impulse, he looked up toward the dozing Knights.

"How long has it been?" he inquired in his usual cryptic manner. In honesty, he couldn't sleep. Surely, there were more hours in the dark night for that.

Sword and Blade immediately pulled themselves from their trip to dreams and looked toward their Lord tiredly, but respectful and attentive all the same.

"Since...when, Sir?" Blade asked, regaining her senses. Both of them seemed to be fighting a yawn. Now feeling mildly guilty for his somewhat childish actions, he was about to tell them to rest again; but, upon seeing that they looked so alert that is was hard to tell they had been asleep only moments prior, he continued on. A small, amused smile underneath his mask.

"Since we left the village," he explained. "How long?" He shifted his yellow eyes between Sword and Blade. The former was pondering, muttering quietly beneath her helmet. Coming to an answer, she sounded rather surprised.

"Nearly...three years," she trailed off before continuing on, "Why do you ask, Sir?" The firelight danced across Meta Knight's mask, illuminating it brightly, closely matching his eyes. They soon changed to a shade of green, swirling enchantingly through his eyes. In truth, what had brought on the question was seeing Ribbon and Adeleine, the two young girls who were apparently friends of his once student. Both of them reminded him of the children in Pupupu Village and of Castle Dedede.

He, as well as Sword and Blade, had stayed there as Knights to King Dedede. Where, most often, they ended up disobeying the King's orders as much as possible, as well as the very talkative advisor to the King, Escargoon, a purple snail. Most of this, though, was to aid Kirby in the most discreet ways as possible, whether it had been to help him defeat a demon beast or (as the Knight would recall strangely happily), kicking the King and his advisor's truck down a hill. Meta Knight soon responded to the Knights.

"None in particular," he told them. "Just reminiscing." Blade nodded in agreement.

"I can relate, Sir. Seeing those two girls earlier reminded me of Fumu and Bun from the village, as well as everyone else." Sword nodded his agreement, remembering the two children of the Cabinet Minister Parm. Blade continued on in a thoughtful tone, "Fumu and Bun must be pretty old now."

"True. How old are they by now?" Sword asked.

Blade looked up in thought before answering, "Fumu should be nearly fourteen, Bun around eleven."

Meta Knight smiled in secret.

"We might have to think about passing by their village soon. It's not far from here," he decided. Sword and Blade turned to their Lord, raising eyebrows beneath their helmets. Meta Knight, who had been looking into the fire once more, rose his eyes, and, seemingly sensing their action, added on a somewhat hasty addition, "We're running low on provisions, anyways."

The two smiled, mildly amused. They had plenty of food in stock.

Meta Knight eyed the Knights after a pause. Their stamina, he had to admit, was remarkable for two of a rather young age. However, it was not endless: Sword was now more or less lying down, the only thing keeping his back relatively straight being the gray crescent boulder. Blade, as well, was showing signs of exhaustion as she refrained from stretching her tired muscles to relax them, afraid that she herself would relax and drift off to sleep. Instead, she settled for flexing her hands at her sides discreetly.

Meta Knight himself could feel sleep drawing near and grabbed his cape once more on habit, despite the fire sitting in front of him.

"That's all," he told them. "We'll leave in the morning for the village," with that, he dozed off, his yellow eyes dimming. Soon, he was asleep. Sword and Blade, who had been keeping themselves awake by will power alone, now relaxed, laying back.

Soon all three fell to dreams.

* * *

**Author's Note: See? I told you that I would make the next chapter shorter!**

**...**

**Though, maybe it's a wee bit too short...oh well, it would have been WAY too long if I didn't break this chapter into at least two parts. Anywho, please review and tell me what you think! **


	5. Detour

**Disclaimer: DON'T OWN KIRBY. T_T**

* * *

Chapter Four: Detour

Not far from the three Knights, Kirby's group were camped out, all sleeping rather peacefully.

Ribbon had been forth set on leaving that instant after Adeleine had finished the new ship, courtesy of her paintbrush, as well as a lot of patience. The ship was even more wrecked than it had been before, making the painter rely more on memory than sight; the putrid smell didn't help her patience either.

Adeleine had insisted that they wouldn't get anything done if they were to fall asleep in the middle of travel (which she emphasized ever so slightly, causing the fairy to back off on the argument). "Besides," she had told them. "I'm getting tired of painting that ship." The weary Star Warrior, Kirby, had also helped in his own way, bringing the stressed fairy a spare blanket that he had found in Adeleine's pack, along with a cute smile, pleading the fairy to rest. Ribbon finally gave in. And, ironically, was the first to fall asleep, drifting off the moment her head touched the pillow.

Kirby now was blissfully resting in the grass beneath a tree, his shrunken Warpstar held protectively in his paws as he slept. Adeleine slept on the ground in a sleeping bag, being used to sleeping in the outdoors. Ribbon, though, slept in the new ship with the cockpit dome up to allow cool air inside. Yet she was still warm due to her blanket.

Too soon, morning had come as Adeleine lazily looked at the pink adorned sky. _Where...?_ she thought lazily, mind still hazy from sleep. The previous events soon came back to her as she got out of her sleeping bag and went over to wake up Kirby first, trying to allow the fairy as much sleep as she could get. _Right, _she thought tiredly. _On another adventure..._

She turned to the small fairy, sleeping peacefully inside the pink ship. She knit her brows in worry. Despite her somewhat mean comment the day prior, she was still worried about Ribbon's sudden faint the day before. It was way too sudden to be natural.

Ariving next to Kirby, she shook him gently, coaxing him awake. He 'poyoed' sleepily at her before jumping energetically onto his red shoes, seeing the sky and his friend. After greeting Adeleine though, he ran through the grass over to Ribbon, who was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She smiled at him sleepily.

"Good morning, Kirby."

Adeleine came up to the two, gathering the sleeping bags up and tied them with some strings, placing them in the ship. She looked at her two pink friends, a smirk coming onto her lips as she put the last pack in the ship casually.

"I see how it is," she said somewhat slyly. Ribbon and Kirby turned to the painter in confusion. If possible, her sly grin grew. "Gotta say hi to your 'girlfriend' before any_thing..._" she pondered a moment mockingly before continuing, "Or any_one_ for that mat – "

"_Adeleine_!" the pink, (in more than one way now), fairy shrieked. Adeleine simply smiled triumphantly, now standing nonchalantly next to the ship. Kirby, not fully understanding the painter's words, poyoed in confusion. Adeleine had said that Kirby and Ribbon were friends, hadn't she? Then why was the fairy mad? He turned to the annoyed fairy in hopes of comprehending why she seemed so annoyed at the moment. She looked down at him and told him that Adeleine had just made a rude joke.

Kirby squealed with child-like laughter, hearing the word 'joke'. So the painter had been merely joking. Ribbon sighed in return, now exasperated, as she hopped into the cockpit, fingering the controls with thoughts of leaving the witty painter behind. The thought brought her some joy.

Though, now it was time to get back to the matter at hand. They needed to finish their mission so she could get back to Ripple Star and ease the Queen's worries. She waited for her two friends to get inside before closing the glass dome and getting ready to power the boosters. Adeleine tapped her shoulder. Ribbon turned rather annoyed, readying for a follow-up comment.

"Think we should go get the penguin?" Ribbon raised a brow, not expecting this. She soon realized who she was talking about. She nodded, sadly finding that it wasn't easy to be mad at the painter for long. The fairy simply one to hold a grudge. _I will get her back some day, though..._

"Dedede would be helpful to have around," she agreed, lifting off into the air. "Especially with his hammer" Adeleine looked toward Kirby, asking him where Castle Dedede was. The pink ball smiled, pointing to the east. He had been there many times.

Ribbon fully powered up the ship, bringing it above Whispy's Woods and into the view of the rising sun. She was tempted to just relax and enjoy the sight; but, remembering her past mistake, she focused on the ship. Adeleine, however, saw something else. She leaned forward and turned several times, looking at their surroundings. Her eyes soon rested on the west. Her brows furrowed. The fairy beside her now let the ship to stay at a steady speed in Castle Dedede's direction before turning to Adeleine.

"What is it?" she inquired. In response, the other girl put a hand to her chin, now looking at the ship.

"Can this ship handle bad weather?" she asked. Her green eyes flicked back outside. "I mean, like really bad weather. Because that looks like one world of a storm heading our way..." she said, indicating toward the west. The suddenness of the darkness in the sky against the now purple tinted sky gave the sky a split look. Both Kirby and Ribbon let out small gasps at the menacing clouds. They seemed to cut the sky in half – into dark and light.

_Good and evil, _the fairy thought absently, surveying the coming storm. She snapped herself out of her thoughts and answered Adeleine's previous question.

"Maybe," she replied, uncertain. "But, I don't know. I've never flown in a storm," she ended somewhat ashamed. Although there was definitely a good deal of precipitation on Ripple Star, like any other planet, it wasn't enough to measure up to an actual storm. It was very possible that the small ship would be plucked off as easily as a feather in a child's hand, should they have to go head to head with the glowering clouds.

As she contemplated the ship's sturdiness, driving toward the Castle, she jolted at the sound of Kirby crying out. Both her and Adeleine turned their attention toward him. Ribbon followed Kirby's paw to where he was pointing to. It was Dedede's Castle. But, that wasn't the only thing there...

Ribbon did a double take.

"What in the world – ?!"

* * *

Meta Knight's orbs lit up like an impatient wild fire, shaken awake by a hiss through the air. Hearing his cape rippling in the wind, he turned to see a wind blown trail remain in front of him before fading away. He didn't like the looks of it.

He stood up, swiftly surveying the impressive trail of dust curving over the vast landscape.

_No...this was no natural occurrence..._

He watched the trail run across the rolling hills to the west. Unsheathing Galaxia, (his wings next), he cast a quick glance toward his right, affirming with mild relief that it had not woken up Sword and Blade. There really wasn't any reason to wake them.

Hesitating only momentarily as to whether to wake them, he made his decision. Jumping easily up into the air, he let the still disturbed air catch beneath his wings, lifting him up into the air.

* * *

**Author's Note: LE GASP! Actual action! It's amazing! Maybe a plot will come along as well! XDD Thanks to those who are reading this! It means a lot to me. :) Don't worry, the story will get a lot better now that the 'intro' of sorts is all done. Oh, by the way: the last chapter's title was not meant to be a pun. It was only until AFTER I had posted it did I actually get it...:# Please disregard it...**

**Anywho, I think that I finally found a good chapter length...but, what do you guys think? Longer, shorter? Fine as it is? See ya! R&R please! :P**

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	6. Chase

**Hello thar, mates! Er...this chapter has been done, ya' know, all typed and all that...for a _very_ long time. I was just being lazy, (which I apologize for). I was really just reluctant to upload it, mostly because it had gone through a couple edits, yet I still think it could have been done better. I dunno, it might be re-edited once more when I figure out what irks me about it. Though, for now, it's going to stay as is. **

**I'm going to stop talking right now, as you people probably don't feel like reading this...^_^;;**

**DisCATmer: (yes, discatmer...why? Because I love my cats! -w-) I do not own the Kirby series. Sad, yes, but true. If I did, I would still be writing this. No, I am not the result of a few bricks short of a castle.**

**Ponder that a while, guys...you'll get it eventually...**

**EXTRA Disclaimer: The author also doesn't own that joke, as she just remembered it from a very funny webcomic. Which she does not own. ;;**

* * *

Chapter Five: Chase

King Dedede was having a good day.

He stood atop his castle on a parapet, holding onto one of the many flagpoles that bore his crest; a bunny symbol. Quite simply, he was merely enjoying the beginning of a new day, as well as the warmth that hit his kingly robe.

His smile grew. Not only had the village children not bothered him about anything in the past few days. But they had appeared to have finally ceased their nagging about as to when the three former Knights of the castle and former hero of the village, Kirby, would return, after their leaving years ago. When questioned, he merely scoffed, slouching even more in his throne in a bored manner. How would he have known? He hadn't even known that they would be leaving. He pondered this momentarily.

The three Knights, Sword, Blade, and Meta Knight, had been gone for nearly three years now; while Kirby had been gone for roughly two, he realized. After serving under Dedede for countless years, they had suddenly made the decision to leave; much to the dismay of the children. They had given little reason to this decision besides Meta Knight's comment of that they needed to further travel to train in swordplay, of which many brows were raised. The swordsmen were some of the greatest they had ever seen.

Having had little to no word from them since they left, the children of the village, (more particularly the Parm children, as well as Lololo and Lalala), had begun like clockwork to pester the King for news he may have heard. As to if they had sent some word, were nearby, or were to soon come back. And, as he turned down their inquiries with a muttered and tired "No", he would feel a twinge of guilt. The three Knights were as close as family after all the years with the children, as well as, (though he would scarcely admit it), King Dedede himself. In truth, the King himself didn't enjoy listening to when three of the most skilled Knights and Star Warrior that had been at the Castle would come back. He wondered that himself. What he didn't need were a couple of children bothering him constantly like an infuriating itch.

As for Kirby, the Star Warrior had been immensely dismayed when his mentor and friends had somewhat abruptly left, and, after many hours of contemplation and preparation, made the decision to leave as well in hopes of gaining stronger without his mentor. The puffball's choice had enticed mixed emotions amongst his friends; their only common feeling being sadness knowing that he would be leaving. Some of the older children and adults though, bid their farewells with a sense of pride at his boldness, seeing that he wanted to be more independent. If he couldn't be taught under Meta Knight he would might as well make all of them proud.

Bringing himself out of his thoughts, he noticed the sun's first glimmer, illuminating the sky like an enchanted paintbrush. Filling the what could be the called the canvas of the world to full color. Splashed with then a spectrum ranging from the proudest vermilion to the softest periwinkle. He couldn't help but curve his beak up in a small smile.

However, the small pleasure from not having to listen once more to the inquiries of the children wasn't the only factor that had contributed to his good mood: he had also gotten word from a traveler that had come into the village only the day prior that it seemed that all of the monsters still left from Nightmare's attack had simply disappeared. As told by the traveler that had had merely come for some rest in the village, it seemed that all over Popstar, as well as some of the neighboring planets, appeared to be free from any of the rogue demon beasts that had escaped alive. Quite simply put, the village was at a time of general peace.

Feeling invigorated in the moment at all of the positives that stood up against nary a negative that day, he shouted to the Waddle Dee seated safely on the roof of the Castle. Clearly, he was not all too interested in the risk of slipping off the parapet the King so boldly stood on.

"Isn't the sun wonderful!"

The Waddle Dee blinked. It was more of a statement, he noted lazily, despite the way it was phrased. Thinking the penguin could easily be part of a cheesy old movie, (more noticeably with the rising sun shining in front of him, which gave a certain sense of bravado to the whole scene), the Waddle Dee momentarily thought on the portly penguin's mental health. Perhaps he had finally lost it?

He sighed almost inaudibly, he wasn't the most happy-go-lucky of all Waddle Dees. He was actually rather sarcastic when he wanted be, completely disregarding the common stereotype revolving almost tauntingly over his species...He sighed once more, this time in a more huffy manner.

There he went again.

But, not wanting to spoil the King's good mood, (as he knew to keep such things to himself; he did have a high respect for the King), he agreed with a small, but appropriate, "Dwee~!" After all, it was a very beautiful day. Who was he to contradict that?

Dedede appeared to approve of this and nodded in a showy manner, bobbing his head multiple times. The Waddle Dee made a small noise that appeared to be a small chuckle and looked up at the nearly clear sky in the east, completely ignoring what laid in the west.

Unlike the others in the Castle that were similar to him, he wore no helmet and carried no spear. He didn't need to. The King, (much to his advisor's annoyance), didn't expect him to. He was somewhat of a guest to the Castle, as well as a growing friend of the King's. He was, after all, the Waddle Dee that had been with him on his journey to defeat Dark Matter.

He leaned back on his somewhat stub like arms. It had been an interesting journey for him. For once, he had gotten to actually do something about the world; for the better. That time, so long ago, he wasn't just a sidekick or bystander, he was part of a team. And, he had managed to contribute as much as the magical painter, Adeleine, the powerful penguin, Dedede, and the brave fairy Ribbon.

After the journey, he had returned to the green fields of Popstar to relax and live the rest of his days in peace. That was, though, what he had thought what he wanted to do. Only weeks after, he had found himself stir-crazy and craving the adventurous life was more. What he really was missing, he soon discovered, was his friends. So, he set off to find Castle Dedede. After finding directions as to where it was from a fellow Waddle Dee that had once been a guard there, he was overjoyed to also find out that Kirby was staying at the Castle as well.

He was disappointed, though, upon arriving to find that the Star Warrior had left. Although saddened, he figured that he would might as well visit the penguin anyways. On the first day he showed up at the Castle, the King was rather reluctant to allow him to stay; he didn't want to seem soft. But, in the end, he finally let him stay. In truth, it was nice to have someone to talk to in the Castle; other than the – annoying, in his opinion – children as well as his advisor, Escargoon. The Waddle Dee was actually rather smart, despite what others thought due to his lack of speech, and, amazingly enough held up conversations with the King.

Said advisor now arrived at the top of the steps that led to the rooftop. He placed his near fingerless hands on his hips, which were actually concealed underneath his shell. He had an impatient look on his face, the tufts of hair on his cheeks twitching every so often as if waiting less than patiently. Giving up suddenly, he called out to Dedede, who was still watching the sun come up on the parapet.

"Your Majesty! Are you not going to have any breakfast?" Dedede turned to his advisor.

"In a few minutes." Escargoon sighed once more, and then looked to the Waddle Dee seated comfortably on the roof. A slight glare came onto his features.

"I still don't see why His Majesty wishes to spend time with this Waddle Dee," he turned to slither back down the steps. "Instead of his loyal advisor, Escargoon..." The Waddle Dee was annoyed somewhat. Guessing from his tone and the way he referred to him, the snail probably thought he didn't understand a word that was said. He huffed lightly, tempted to stick out his tongue.

A temptation that he soon gave into when the snail was out of sight, giving a few faces to top it off.

Feeling triumphant over the snail, the Waddle Dee hopped over to the parapet and stood by Dedede, who smiled lightly in return. A comfortable silence reigned over the two as they watched the sky. The sun was almost at it's zenith in the sky, the a famed spectrum dwindling off to now just a few shades of blue and violet. A comfortable peace reigned...

...until it was rudely interrupted by a powerful gust of wind.

It whipped viciously around the two, causing them both to pinwheel their arms through the air, balancing now on one shoe. All of this in hope of finding balance before their common sense kicked in. Feeling like a fool the penguin hastily clung onto the flagpole, an indignant frown placed on his face as he eyed the ground.

It seemed rather far down at the moment.

The Waddle Dee in turn clung onto his robe, looking down at the ground with an equally weary look, thinking dryly over the meaning of the word 'karma'...

A few seconds passed, then a couple minutes.

Feeling that it was now safe, the two soon blew a sigh of relief, blessing the invention of flagpoles (or, in the Waddle Dee's case, robes). They both tentatively let go until, breathing sighs of relief.

Another wind blew past.

It was much fiercer than the first, cutting cleanly through the air like a bullet, ultimately blowing them both off the parapet as cleanly as a fan blew dust away.

* * *

Meta Knight unsheathed Galaxia. _Who..._what _is this creature? _

In front, the trail of dust continued on as easily as if it was merely being drawn on with an enchanted pen. He flapped his wings, rising on the thermals so he could get a better view as to where this apparent speed demon would be headed next.

The pink light of the sky in the east now reflected off of Galaxia, turning it a brilliant red tinted gold as Meta Knight began to arc, decreasing the resistance in his stance to obtain more speed as he tailed the creature.

The creature appeared to beginning to tire, as its speed began to decrease, he noticed as he continued to arc. Suddenly, though, Meta Knight's eyes, which had been focused on the creature, now shifted upward in surprise, seeing the destination that it was heading for.

_Castle Dedede?_ as well as: _The 'visit' will have to come sooner than I thought..._

He grimaced, now finding a fault in his decision. He should have brought Sword and Blade with him.

Where there was Castle Dedede, there was Pupupu Village.

The residents of Pupupu Village, he knew, were easily scared, and, when frightened caused more trouble than necessary. There would be mass panic in a matter of moments if that thing decided to head into the heart of the village, placed just downward of the hill where the Castle itself stood. If anything, Sword and Blade would have been able to calm down the crowds. As well as fight, if it became necessary.

Now, the once far off Castle Dedede was closer than ever as he gained distance skillfully between him and the speed demon.

It wouldn't be long now...

Arching his wings suddenly, he descended at high speed. The sharp wind he now heard whisting past his mask heightened in pitch the closer he came to the ground, crescendoing to a sharp keen the closer he came. Faster down he went before catching a draft and going straight in a smooth maneuver, looping expertly, Galaxia pointing forward.

This abrupt change was due to the creature, (who had previously been on the ground), who had seemingly shot up into the air and now was skimming off of the air itself, leaving a wind blown trail like a tunnel. Only mildly surprised at this point at the demon's new found flight, Meta Knight was soon in this trail and, finding the flight easier, now had nearly reached his opponent. He felt his blood race.

They soon crossed a parapet of the Castle, the Knight took note, before the speed demon shot to the right cleanly onto the roof of the Castle, its speed decreasing a sizable amount to make the turn. Meta Knight, noticing this, clipped off earlier than his foe, eventually cutting off the demon in mid flight.

He shot out a purple shoe, kicking the creature down swiftly with a roundhouse style, flipping in a circle with his gained flight momentum. The creature, unsuspecting of the attack, crashed to the ground, causing numerous dust clouds to explode over the area of impact, as well as many small chips of stone. The Knight shielded himself with his arm, landing lithely on the roof; invigorated from the chase.

Finding it wise not to rush his opponent, lest he reveal another talent to his arsenal of speed and flight, he calmed his breath quickly and brandished Galaxia in the now clearing smog of dust.

When it had fully cleared, he put Galaxia away disdainfully, a small snarl rising up his throat in annoyance.

Whatever had been there moments before was gone now. Nothing was left but a crater buried deep into the roof, the cracks spider-webbing over it. Getting small satisfaction that he had at least landed a hit, Meta Knight was about to release his wings once more to find his comrades. Hopefully, they were still asleep and did not notice his disappearance.

Before his blowing cape could transform into his dragon-like wings though, something below in the crater caught his yellow eyes. The morning's bright dawn glinted off of it as the sun continued to rise lazily.

Stepping down, he reached out a gloved hand and picked it up.

_Did it drop this? _he thought. _Or, was this what it had been after?_ He had never seen anything like it. It was so small, yet it appeared to contain a sizable amount to power. He was puzzled.

"Why was it looking for a – "

"_Sir Meta Knight!?_"

* * *

**Oh noes! Who is it? Fumu? Bun? Waddle Doo? Silica...?**

**_!!!_**

**Shutting up now! No spoilers for later chappies! ;P Oh! And just in case you guys were wondering, I did _sorta kinda _make up Waddle Dee's personality...-_-;;**

**I DARE you guys to find mistakes in this chapter, after all the edits it went through. Though, if you do, try to listen for my soul dying...Just wait for it, you'll hear it eventually...**

**Please stop by for a review, because at the moment, there's only four for the six chapters. I would love to know whether people are enjoying this or not. ;; Favorites and alerts are great, but actually hearing from you guys makes me smile. :D **


	7. Rejoining

**Thank you guys SO much for the reviews in the last chapter! They made my day AND made me more excited to get to writing the next chapters. :D**

**Er...yeah, there is only one more chapter that is fully written at the moment. I did have at least two more chapters in my notebook...but, they were written during a huge writer's block and are - for lack of a better word - crud. Not even a major edit could fix them, they are indeed at the point of no return. ;; But, I _do _have reason for not working on them as much as usual, and that is because I've been working on my other fanfics, which are on my profile. Heh, the semi-crack one makes me laugh. XD Thus, I have...seven OpenOffice's open at the moment. Which is actually quite amazing seeing as I usually have over ten.**

**Yes, I do like giving my compy a heartattack...weekly.**

**I will stop doing filler-ish chapters...I promise. **

**Disclaimer: The author DOES NOT own the Kirby series or its characters. All she does own is this story, it's plot, and possibly three characters that will appear...eventually. Maybe. Oh, she also kinda-sorta owns Waddle Dee's portrayal personality wise. **

* * *

Chapter Six: Rejoining

Meta Knight's eyes flicked up from the object. If he was surprised, he clearly didn't show it.

"Hello, Escargoon," he said calmly, wrapping his cape around him once more in habit, gripping tightly onto what he had found in the crater. The snail's face, which had been one of shock, grew to annoyance as he saw the rather out of place crater in the roof.

"You finally visit us after all of these years," the snail nearly wailed, eying the impact. "And you come and make a crater in His Majesty's roof?!" the snail looked around, surveying the roof.

"Where _is_ His Majesty, anyways?" Meta Knight jumped out of the crater, ignoring the snail's question. He needed to get back to Sword and Blade...

Escargoon continued on; more to himself now, "He was up here before with that Waddle Dee..." he turned to Meta Knight at the sound of his clicking shoes on the stone. "Hey, where are you – ?!" he gasped as the dark, dragon-like wings shot out of the Knight's back in contrast to the bright sun rising over the land. The snail backed off.

He gulped as the Knight prepared to take off, weary now of him. "H-how long have you had...those, those..."

"Wings?" it came out as a sigh of what seemed as mild surprise. Escargoon blinked. Had the Knight even known they were there?

However, the snail only nodded slowly – choppily - as he looked pointedly at the claws that adorned said wings; he could almost see the visages of blood from countless battles, tearing apart any who stood in the Knight's way. He gulped.

Meta Knight hesitated slightly before jumping into the air, unsure of what to do now that his wings were in full view.

Flying, for the past few years, had been so natural during the time that it had almost become a habit. As if the wings themselves thirsted to fly on the wind's breath any chance they got after so many years of concealment.

He eyed the terrified advisor. Hopefully, the snail would be too shocked to even breath a word of it to the children. They had no business in knowing of them.

"Escargoon! What was that noise?" as if to mock his thought, a familiar female voice echoed slightly in the passage of the stairwell. Her blond hair, which was slightly messy, leading one to guess that she had just woken up, flipped about as she walked over to the purple snail. She scoffed at his expression of shock and fear.

"What?" she questioned him, looking up at the sky, following his gaze. Escargoon blinked, somewhat dazed as he noticed the Cabinet Minister's daughter beside him. He turned to her before flipping back toward the sky where the Knight had been. He was gone.

Fumu continued, "Really, you look like you've seen a ghos – What in the world happened!?" she gasped suddenly, seeing the crater in the roof.

Escargoon pondered a moment. Should he say that it was caused by the elusive swordsman, Meta Knight? The Knight who had left nearly three years ago? The Knight who, (of which he had discovered only minutes ago), had what appeared to be _demon wings_? The image of the claw adorned wings came back to his mind.

_No_, he soon decided. _I'd rather be _anywhere_ than be on the bad side of that Knight...Best to just forget about it..._

He rubbed the back of his head, thinking of an excuse as Fumu tapped her shoe impatiently. Coming to an idea, he spilled his lie, suddenly interested in a blowing flag on a nearby parapet. He wasn't the best lier; especially when he could feel impatient daggers prickling him from a certain pair of green eyes.

"Well, you see," he told her. "His Majesty was up here practicing some...uh," he paused. Fumu raised a brow, waiting for him to continue. Coming upon an idea, he finished hastily, "...battle techniques."

At first, the girl appeared to believe it, finding it plausible for the hammer wielding penguin to want to practice his fighting once in a while. However, one side glance at the size of the crater, and she quickly found that there was no way the King's hammer would be able to smash a crater of that size. Finally, she crossed her arms, "Really."

"Yes, well, you know His Majesty," Escargoon told her, already edging toward the stairs to get away from the girl. He waved a hand in hopes of dismissing the matter. "Tends to get carried away at times. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

She stopped him, beating him to the stairway, "No, I'm going to go ask King Dedede himself," she turned to him a last time before heading down to the Throne Room. "And you had better not run away, Escargoon!"

The snail glared. Who was she to order him, the King's Advisor?

Huffing, he waited a moment. There really was no use in trying to escape the girl, he would be found eventually. Half of him expected the girl to come back in a matter of seconds, while the other half expected Meta Knight to come back. He soon rested on another thought, pushing the other two away. A thought that was only fully realized after Fumu's comment about the King. This one caused a smile to come upon his face.

"But," he proclaimed quietly. "I'm free now from that King's wrath!" this was followed by bouts of laughter, quiet enough that it drew little attention, but loud enough for some of the passing birds to cock their heads in question. The reason for this was simple: obviously, the King had disappeared, as he didn't come downstairs and he was no longer on the roof. He was, quite simply put, gone.

He grinned.

No more would he have to take that foolish King's orders and insults. Maybe he should proclaim himself King...

It wasn't such an otherworldly proposition, as he had taken the position of King a couple years back, when King Dedede had gone on an unannounced journey with Kirby supposedly through the galaxy itself - based on what the King had told him upon his return. The villagers, being the simple minded ones they were, questioned little about this switch. It had been wonderful to be King then...

Surely he would be a better King than that sloth of a penguin.

_Yes, _he thought, dipping out of his usually well-humored persona. _It will work out just like that traveler said..._

Just as he began to elaborate

more, though, a cold shiver passed through his shell. The dark glint in his eyes was put out as fear took over.

He turned slowly.

The quiet chuckling died down to a small giggle. Then a gulp.

"H-hello, Your Majesty...eh, um," The King's glare, for it was he, intensified. The snail gestured toward the sun behind him in vain. "Nice day, eh...Your Majesty?" Dedede twisted his hammer in a painfully slow and calm manner.

"Yet the storm's right in front of you..."

Ironically, it was the exact truth.

Letting out a small battle cry, the penguin lifted his great hammer, preparing to bring in down on the snail like he had done times before. Escargoon closed his eyes tight, expecting the familiar sting. He really should learn to plot such things in his head.

Bringing down the hammer, the rush of wind that followed was cut short.

The purple snail peeked an eye open; the other.

The shadow that once loomed over his form from the hammer was gone. Blinking in confusion, it took a bit for him to find out how exactly this apparent miracle had happened. His eyes traveled up the King's shoes, robe, hammer, fairy, hat...

"_F-fairy?!_" he exclaimed. Dedede now turned casually toward the pink fairy, Ribbon.

"He deserves it," he told her as Escargoon watched the exchange with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "He thought I was gone and was laughing about it," he pouted somewhat to the fairy.

"Yes, but the violence isn't necessary, is it? It may have been rude, but it doesn't necessarily call for immediate violence..." her big cerulean eyes trailed to behind the snail, where Fumu and Bun, (as well as Lololo and Lalala), stood; having returned back to the roof to question the snail further about the mysterious crater. Fumu was first to regain her voice.

"Is that a...fairy?" she asked to no one in particular, incredulous to the sight she was seeing. Even more so that King Dedede was friends with the creature. Needless to say, the crater by now was long forgotten. Her attention was diverted, though, when she saw who was behind them, exiting an odd looking pink ship. Bun, who had been steps behind his sister, now yelled, running past the King.

"Kirby! You're back!"

Kirby squealed happily, quickly recognizing the boy as he ran up to hug him.

"Poyo!"

Escargoon, off to the side, appeared to be having a meltdown at all of this as he watched in shock. His right eye now twitched somewhat as he watched blankly as Fumu run toward Kirby as well, _What next...?_

Dedede swung his hammer over his shoulder nonchalantly. He bent slightly before proceeding to wave a gloved hand in front of the snail in an attempt to snap him out of the state he was in. Ribbon also tried, hovering down to the snail and waving her small hand as well, saying every so often, "Mr. Snail...?"

The painter, Adeleine, exited the ship now, sighing. It was lucky that they had made the decision to go in pursuit of the King then.

They had been aiming to go to the front gate once they had reached the Castle, seeing that the two figures they had seen flying past one of the parapets of the Castle before were no where in sight. But, just as they were rounding the corner of the Castle, Kirby had shrieked, looking upward and waving madly. On first sight, both Ribbon and Adeleine both shot for the cockpit dome release button, neither interested in having yet another destroyed ship. This time by a falling penguin and Waddle Dee.

The ship, catching them with surprising ease, had made a frighteningly low dip before regaining its altitude, bouncing back up as if it was being held by elastic. As the group breathed a sigh of relief, quick greetings were shared amongst the reunited group. Soon, though, the King had demanded for them to go to the roof of the Castle. Ribbon obliged, and here they now were.

Adeleine, now in the present, felt somewhat lost in all of this, very much like the Waddle Dee next to her. She scoffed somewhat at all the chaos that was being created until she looked down at the Waddle Dee, who had been prodding at her leg. Looking at him questioningly, he answered with a small '_dwee_'and pointed toward the ship. He looked somewhat impatiently then toward the group, all lost in different conversations atop the roof.

Adeleine understood him, "We _should_ get going, shouldn't we?" she nodded toward the group. "We've wasted enough time as it is..." He answered with a small nod, heading into the ship himself, not wasting any time as he went for a comfy seat. She crossed her arms, looking at the crowd, and then at the storm clouds edging their way closer to the bold sun. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted to the group.

"Hey, guys! We really need to – "

"Poyo! Poyo, poy poyo!"

"Kirby! We thought you would never come back!"

"Yeah! You've been gone_ forever_!"

"I missed you everyday!"

"That may be, but I, Lololo, missed you every second!"

And: "I still say a good wack upside the hea – "

"Dedede, I think you're scaring Mr. Snail even more..."

"F-fairies...? Has the world for Escargoon gone insane?"

"Poyo~!"

"So, are you really human? I remember reading about them before...Do-you-under-stand-what-I-am-saying?"

"I'm not a moron!"

Until: "_Dwee~_!"

Silence.

Adeleine cleared her throat, ending her exchange with Fumu rather abruptly. "Thank you, Waddle Dee," she said. "We need to get going if we're going to be able to leave before that storm comes in," she turned to Dedede.

"So, are you coming?"

* * *

**So, is Dedede going to go with them? I dunno. No, really, I don't. The next chappie may be written already but it centers over something else. Though, I have an idea, so don't call me lazy...yet. **

**-sighs- This story and its plot WILL pick up eventually... **

**ARG...there is one part in this chapter that I absolutely _hated_ writing, because no matter how I phrased it, it sounded weird. I'm not saying what part it is but you readers, (and possibly reviewers...? :D), can probably figure out which part it is. **

**Anywho, thanks again to the readers out there! Also, stay tuned for some of my new stories that I will be posting, as well as chapter 7! Chapter 7 and 8 are where the real action will begin! ;P So we can finally say bye to those horrid fillers, mates! :) **

**As always, feel free to point out mistakes or things that didn't make sense. I won't bite your head off, really. 8D**


	8. Ambush of the Mice

**Hey guys! Been awhile, hasn't it? This is Pyro-Link coming to you with the seventh chapter of Eternal! **

**Though, the next one after this, I'm at somewhat of a Writer's Block...yeah...D: Sadly, chapter 8 won't be much to look forward to, as just so happens to be _immensely_ short, coming in at only two pages. I'm sorry...it's the Writer's Block...:S It was a wonder that the chapter was even longer than a paragraph. **

**I do, however, have a good reason for not updating/writing this story as much as before. Don't worry, it is good. The reason being, is that I've been writing in the Kirby AU that I mentioned on my profile. It's turning out to be quite an odd fic to write. I like writing it, though. It's a nice break from the total 'emo-bucket-ness' of 'From the Red Eye' and the seriousness of this fic. :D**

**Okay, maybe that's not such a good reason, I hope you guys stick with me through these waits though. I will get through this Writer's Block! :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kirby. I do however, own the plot of this story...it's late, don't expect any witty remarks. DX**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Ambush of the Mice

The clank of metal echoed throughout the forest.

The two Knights felt their ears ring brutally, making it feel as though the world itself was just a catacomb of disorientation and tiredness. Blade faltered, stepping unsteadily back. Her legs threatened to collapse with their minuscule tremors. None the less, she brandished her sword bravely. Sword, beside her, parried another shot; a throwing star. He soon, though, back stepped toward his comrade. He, too, breathed heavily beneath his helmet.

After her short break, she prepared for another strike. Blade bent slightly like a spring before propelling herself through the air, her weapon raised. Her opponent grinned a toothy smile, holding up a black wand that had a red jewel encrusted into golden bands on the tip of it. Once the sword met it, the impact shot a crack through her ears once more as she gritted her teeth in pain.

Despite his grin, however, her foe must have been in greater pain. His mouse-like features tightening as he grudgingly held up his part in the brief stalemate. He did have rather large ears...

Pushing off the wand, the green Knight fell through the air, landing lightly with the aid of her free hand before looking abruptly up in frustration.

He had warped again; an annoying technique she had found out about only minutes after their battle had started. Turning to Sword, a grim smile came on her face. He had managed to take down the giant of the ambush, a frighteningly large blue mouse with a red shirt that really covered only a small portion of his frame due to his size, as well as a scarf tied over his head. Two holes were cut in it to allow his large ears to stick out while an eye patch covered his left eye. Not that it really mattered, as the other one was barely visible.

She ducked.

Not a moment later, a whistle in the air where her head had been affirmed that her instincts had been correct. Whipping around, she tried a new tactic, grabbing the wand that the gray mouse still held in midair while simultaneously tossing her sword aside – this battle had to end.

Using her opponent's momentary surprise, she gripped the wand and forced it into his gut. Stark red eyes became mere pinpoints as he uttered a choked gasp, falling to the ground with a thud. His ripped vermilion top hat flew off and landed softly in the grass as his furry gray mouse ears now flattened in pain and shock.

Blade swiftly joined Sword after recovering her sword as they now went after the last member of the ambush, trusting that the gray mouse would be down for a while. Said member they were after resided in a tree: a small yellow mouse with dark red sunglasses as well as a flowing red cape tied around his neck comfortably. He taunted, his tongue showing as his small paws contorted his face into different shapes in mock to the two Knights.

Not waiting to see their reaction to his taunt, he jumped lightly off the branch and began to pad quickly toward them, two throwing stars visible. Arching an arm, he threw both of them with deadly precision.

Sword lifted his weapon, the star '_pinging_' off of it moments afterwards, whereas Blade dodged. Attempting to make some advancement, Blade pounded forward, only to dodge once more as the sharp stars came her way once more. She backed up once more.

"There seems to be no way to getting forward without getting bombarded by those throwing stars..." Sword grit his teeth with annoyance. Around them, the wind blew quietly, oblivious to the heated battle taking place. "I've tried nearly every – "

His breath caught.

_How could I have missed...?_

"Sword?!"

Blade pounded forward suddenly, sword set in a defensive manner. As custom, his opponent reached for more throwing stars, sending them flying a split second later. Letting the first of the two stars bounce to the ground after ricocheting off of the flat of his weapon, he tensed his grip now, angling the sword slightly downward, twisting it a little, as the second star collided; causing it to hit an edge of the sword, rather than the flat.

Pinging off, it shot back with the gained momentum toward the yellow mouse's blowing cape; which, (as Sword was relieved to find out), turned out to be an easy target, the full length of the material hovering midair by the wind. The throwing star jerked his foe abruptly to the ground, a small gag escaping his throat as he fell to the ground.

Rubbing his neck after a moment, the energetic mouse angrily gripped his cape pinned to the ground by his own weapon, ripping the throwing star free while taking out more stars. He eyed the two Knights with venom; clear now he was going to give it all he had. Sword and Blade prepared once more.

"Enough, Spinni."

The air in front of the red caped mouse distorted for a moment before revealing the leader of the group, the gray mouse. The yellow mouse, namely Spinni, protested.

"Daroach! We can take them! I was just caught off guard!" he looked toward the two Knights. "We can get our treasure back from those idiots!" Doroach tilted his top hat, acknowledging Sword and Blade. He fixed Blade in one of his stark red eyes, the tattered hat covering his other, giving the leader an aura of bravado and mystic.

"Mate, they've shown skill," he told Spinni. A look of amusement came across his face now. "_Especially_ for a female..."

Blade clenched her fist around the pommel of her sword. Her first intentions were to pummel the cocky leader. But, a side glance from Sword kept her in check. She eyed the mouse distastefully. If the mouse showed any surprise at her discipline, he showed none of it. Instead, he pointed his wand at them.

"Mate," he said, eying shiftily around as Spinni, as well as the rest of his 'Squeak Squad' – as he called it – gathered around him. "If you just give back the treasure you stole from us, we'll gladly leave," he motioned toward the group. "Though, mates, if you try to fight back again, we'll just keep fighting as well. Until we get back our treasure, that is," he got a bright glint in his vermilion eyes. "In my book, there's _nothing_ more important than treasure, mates."

Rather surprised at such greed, Sword and Blade simultaneously thought, _Mouse?_ _He's a rat!_

Instead of speaking their like thoughts, Sword thrust out his weapon accusingly at the treasure hunters.

"So," he shouted. "Is it more important than honor? Is it really nothing more important than treasure?"

Blade nodded, continuing after Sword, "True, attacking us when we were asleep, only true cowards would do that!"

Daroach merely chuckled. However, he then got a sinister look about him, lowering his head so a shadow was cast over his bright eyes.

"You had no business letting your guard down like that anyways, mates," he told them. A pointed tooth glinted. "Especially if you steal from others. _Especially _the infamous Squeak Squad!"

Spinni joined in, his two paws place behind his head in a relaxed manner, "True. And being so obvious as to have someone see you steal! _We _would never let that happen," he proceeded to laugh. Keeping up the tag team, Doroach picked up where he left off once again. He mocked a tear, wiping it from his eye.

"Mates, that's just_ embarrassing_," he said, clearly enjoying himself. "Just give up the treasure, you look like idiots as it is, putting up a fight against the Squeaks as well as the infamous Daroa – !?"

Blade lost it.

She marched up to him angrily, standing only a foot from where he stood. An infuriated snarl rose beneath her helmet. She swiftly pointed her gloved hand in his face.

"Listen," she told him in a menacing voice. "We did not steal whatever treasure you had. Whoever told you that was _obviously _lying. So, unless you want to get beaten again, I suggest you leave."

After surprise left him, Sword mentally praised his mental twin, even if it went against most of what their mentor, Meta Knight, commonly taught them. The mou – rat, he amended, _did_ have it coming.

Daroach's normally calm, perpetually cocky eyes were wide from her outburst. However, there was no way he was going to let this_ girl_ leave with the victory. Regaining his composure surprisingly fast, he smiled at her. His eyes reclaimed their cockiness but now held a softer tone, almost faraway, as if reliving a memory.

"Ya know?" he told her. "I know a mate just like you." Blade lowered her hand in surprise at this comment, her anger melting down to confusion. Though, caution was still there, just in case this comment was just a way to distract her.

"Good fighter," he nodded, closing his eyes, seemingly forgetting the venomous voice that had so elegantly graced his ears only moments before. "Has a shorter temper than you, granted. Kinda reckless, she is."

He opened them soon, backing off from her and back to the Squeak Squad. Blade, finding it better to just have the thief leave, didn't stop him. Although truthfully, it was more from she was still taken aback from his sudden change of disposition. She had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time they met up. He raised his wand as the jewel on the end glowed brightly; pulses from it slowly engulfing the Squeak Squad. As each wave passed over the group their images were brought more and more out of existence until they looked nothing more than ghosts. He was obviously taking his time.

Daroach looked at them one last time before they faded fully out, the air rippling slightly in their wake. He ended with a comment that only affirmed the swordswoman's previous thought.

"Don't get reckless, mate."

* * *

**XD I've always imagined that Daroach would say 'mate' a lot...I dunno, it just fits him in my opinion...I love Daroach. He needs to be in more than one game, kinda like a whole lot of other Kirby characters. Honestly, what is with all of these oneshot characters? **

**Well, if you have time, please leave a review! **


	9. Pawn

**Hey guys! :D Ten days...not too long I would say. Unfortunately, this is indeed the immensely short chapter that I warned about last time. I'm really sorry. This was when I was in the midst of Writer's Block...T.T Also, I tried to put it at the end of another chapter...but it then just felt tacked on. So, I decided to leave it as it is. **

**Today, my favorite character _finally _makes his appearance! You can probably guess who! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Kirby series or its characters. I do however, (as I _kinda sorta_ didn't say earlier), own three of the main villians that appear later. MUCH later, actually...Yeah, let's just start. **

* * *

Chapter Eight: Pawn

The creature skipped.

His pompoms bounced back and forth in a playful, near hypnotic manner, mirroring his attitude exactly. His perpetual grin and wide, mismatched eyes gleamed in the sunlight in Whispy's Woods.

He would whistle, he decided.

The bird's in the trees seemed to exchange crazed glance, hopping lithely on the branches as they heard the strange creature below attempt to whistle. A few blows, then a small squeak. Suddenly, a laugh burst through the air.

Ecstatic, rapid laughter.

The bird's coked their heads in unison. To them, the creature skipping on what looked like an inflatable clown ball looked nothing short of insane. Which, as he would laugh his trademark laughter if asked, was indeed the truth. He had no doubt about it.

_The only thing I do doubt is whether I can whistle!_

Having eventually given up on whistling, he jumped off the ball and jumped up into the branches of a tree, adjusting himself in the crook of a branch, leaning against the trunk.

The red ribbon blew peacefully around him, curling and twisting in the breeze. Below it, a satchel hung, rather out of place amongst his rather plain ensemble due to its extravagance. It was held by a chain embroidered with multi colored gems, ranging from burning rubies and sea worthy sapphires, glowing with a soft luminosity as they speckled the leaves around them in a spectrum.

He breathed in, closing his eyes. His own face had been set aglow. However, it was not from the sun or the entrancing gems. It was what was inside the satchel that brightened his somewhat purple face and small pointed ears.

One of them twitched.

He wasn't sure he liked the calm feeling _they_ brought to him. A soothing, almost serene light emitted from that even his twisted persona was brought to something he found truly disturbing..._sanity._

A theoretical light at the end of the maze of his mind, that untwisted the upside down world and allowed him to view it with fresh eyes. It opened a path that led to understanding and knowledge. Just like everyone else. But, if that was so...

"...is it really that bad...?"

He opened his eyes, gazing into the beady ones of the two birds that had hopped over to him. Blinking, he stared at them.

Why were they looking at him like that?

Leaning forward a bit, he looked closer, as if doing such a thing would suddenly grant the bird's speech to answer his unspoken question. However, a minor cock of one of their head, and he knew.

The perpetual smile was gone.

The bird had cocked its head just so that a lone ray of light had caught it, bouncing off its surface, transforming it into a mirror of sorts. In it, he saw himself. His two-pronged jester hat, one half blue, and one half red. Each of which dappled with white designs of both stars and circles. He saw his silken bow, tied near perfectly around his neck, as well as his brown shoes and of course the satchel.

But, the only thing that concerned him was his face. Or, more particularly, his mouth. His lips were parted somewhat in thought. The frown suddenly grew.

It was the work of those _things. _Those _things _in the satchel that hung around his neck. They were like a double-edged sword to him. While he could definitely feel the potential power that lurked within them, he also felt the pureness of them. It was the pureness of good that changed his mind, made straight his twisted mind...

...remove his demonic smile.

Closing his eyes once more, he once again fell along his original question: was it really that bad?

_Yes,_ he thought. _Because then everything would happen just like before. No matter what. I will forever be forced to go through this endless loop..._

It would be just like before if he let those _things_ get the better of him and bring out what he had been before.

No. He couldn't, _wouldn't_ face that again. All those people...all of that laughter. He wanted to teach them all. Show them that there would be consequences for such a thing. And it would all start with that puffball...

The smile returned, brought on a quick run through of his plot.

_My_ brilliant_ plot_, he amended quickly.

He opened his big multi colored eyes; one calm blue, the other a fierce red. Grinning at the bird's, he relinquished his psychotic demeanor, displaying a sane smile. Besides, he had always had a certain fondness for birds, after all, the bird's had done nothing to him. They couldn't laugh at him.

"Hey, hey, hey," he told them playfully. "I'm Marx."

* * *

**Yup! Marx finally joins the scene. For those of you who saw it coming, cookie goes to you! Hm...you can make what you want of the title of this chapter. It will come back later. THEN the title of this chapter will make complete sense. Well, for those of you that have been checking my profile, (do any of you...? D:), you will know that I keep rather frequent updates on all of my stories. So, if you're wondering why I haven't updated or maybe you want to know what other stories I have in mind, check it out! :D **

**Well, I hope you guys get excited for the next chapter - I sure am! Because this chapter marks the end of filler chapters! So, be ready to get your Victory Cocoa for the next chapter!**

**Please stop by for a review! I want to hear what you guys think! :D **


	10. Ending to Begin

**Hey guys! Yup, I'm _finally _here with the new chappie in Eternal! Sorry it took so long. As I said on my profile, I had it done weeks ago...D: yeah...so, after I edited it, I was ready to upload...**

**...except Fanfiction decided to have a technical problem that day...T.T Bah, it was probably because I was being so lazy to even EDIT the chapter. I've been busy lately. With having nine hour band practice nearly every day this week and school starting up again next week, I've just been really tired and sadly the last thing I felt like doing was writing/editing/anything else but relaxing...;; Sorry.**

**By the way, for those of you who have read my other story, "Amongst Other Things", you will know that that I said that if I didn't post up the chapter by...what? Two Sunday's ago? That I entitled you all to Internet 'Gibb Slap' me...D: Shameless NCIS reference is shameless!**

**Well, I shall not stall any further and let you guys get onto the next chapter! Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Diclaimer: Don't own the Kirby series...**

**I hope you guys have gotten your Victory Cocoa ready! :D**

Ending to Begin

"Thank you for your hospitality, but we really must be going."

Ribbon bowed midair politely before flitting over to the fairy ship. The Parm family understood, although they were rather disappointed that they couldn't be of anymore help to the band of travelers.

Fumu stepped forward before they closed down the hull. "We understand," she reassured. "We wish you the best."

The group all nodded their thanks. Dedede twisted his hammer around somewhat absently.

The cabinet minister finally spoke, "Your Majesty," he addressed the portly penguin. "Are you sure you wish to go with them?"

The King looked somewhat undignified as the small twists came to a halt. "Of course I'm going! You can't expect these guys to be able to survive without me can you?"

'Those guys' all rose an annoyed brow.

Dedede ignored this as he stood up in the ship. "And!" he proclaimed. "I expect a festival! As well as a banquet upon my return! I also - "

The glass dome shut rather abruptly.

"_Ow!_" He turned angrily to the pilot's seat, rubbing his head. Adeleine grinned lightly at the penguin's rebuke, "What is your problem!? That hurt!"

The painter merely waved a finger. "Well, you were taking too long," she said simply. "We need to leave."

Ribbon and Kirby, apparently oblivious to it (and smartly so), waved to the Parm family on the roof of the castle as the ship began to take off.

The petals around the ship began to spin around, creating whirls of air and sparkles. In moments, the ship lifted off gently before shooting into the sky, becoming a pinprick in the blue sky.

The family below stood for a while before Memu Parm ushered them inside, "Come now, a storm is coming. We don't want to be caught out here when it starts." The family slowly walked their way inside the castle, casting small glances to the sky.

They would never know how true her words were.

* * *

"So, where we to?" Dedede leaned back in his seat. He was already uncomfortable in the rather undersized ship, despite the fact that they were on Popstar mere minutes ago.

Adeleine continued to drive the ship, expecting the fairy to make the decision. Ribbon continued to stare off into the dark space.

Outside, the stars twinkled brightly as they had did on the day previous, when they had been part of the stunning meteor shower. It was amazing how something so magical could disappear so quickly.

Kirby nudged Ribbon worriedly. "Poyo?"

She snapped back to reality, turning to him. She smiled lightly. "Yes, Kirby?"

He pointed to the King. Rather than what one would have suspected to be an impatient look, his eyes were more soft than harsh.

"Yes, Dedede?" Ribbon inquired. Adeleine cast a small glance behind her. _She's much too young to be so worried all the time…_

Dedede shuffled in his seat. "Where are we headed first? Your home?"

The fairy nodded. "Yes, we need to go meet with the Queen to see what she wants to do next."

Adeleine looked at the passing planets, the same ones that they had gone to in the past. She chuckled lightly. "You know? It's interesting…"

The remaining shot her a confused look.

"I wonder what the Queen will say when she sees all of us," Adeleine answered. "She's probably just expecting you and Kirby, Ribbon. I guess we all were a bit stir-crazy these past years...I guess Waddle Dee, Dedede, and I all were itching to get out again."

King Dedede folded his arms. "I'll have you know that I was enjoying that break. And I was not itching to - "

"Yeah, yeah," Adeleine taunted. "We know..."

As their argument continued, Kirby and Ribbon were left with the Waddle Dee, who was taking a small nap.

The fairy placed a small hand on the glass of the ship suddenly. Her face was in puzzlement. Kirby looked at her, "Poyo?"

She shook her head as she pointed to the planets one by one, naming them as they were in her view. "Popstar, Rock Star, Aqua Star, Neo Star, Shiver Star…" her finger landed on the last spot unsatisfied. She named them once more to no avail as her panic began to rise.

"Where…where's Ripple Star…?!" The last of it came out as a terrified gasp.

Adeleine and King Dedede ceased their bickering to turn to the fairy.

The painter knit her brows. "What Ribbon?"

The fairy was growing impatient as she felt tears sting her eyes. This couldn't be happening again…

"Ripple Star is gone!"

Adeleine's look was suddenly serious. "Ribbon, calm down, it can't just be _gone._" She looked back out into space, looking at the planets herself. Going through the same process as Ribbon had before, she unfortunately came to the same conclusion. She, however, wasn't as quick to submit to fear.

"T-there must be an explanation for…" she stuttered as she stared out into the blackness. "Here, we'll just go closer, it can't just disappear," she commented in a voice she hoped was reassuring. Driving the ship closer to the area, they all looked around in confusion. Then something clicked in the artist's mind.

Slowly, she brought the ship to a stop. Moving from her position in the pilot's seat, she went over to Ribbon, embracing her tightly. "…I'm so sorry."

That was the only incentive Ribbon needed as the tears finally burst forth from her eyes and she bawled into her friends smock. She didn't even have to look up to see the peering eyes of Dark Matter stare gleefully back at her.

Kirby and Dedede exchanged glances, unsure as to what to do as Ribbon continued to sob. Kirby finally hopped over, patting Ribbon on the back, easing her into just light crying.

Dedede suddenly felt anger build up in him as he stared out at the Dark Matter that had covered the planet of Ripple Star so completely that it was hardly visible. Did they ever give up? His gloved hand gripped tightly on his hammer.

Soon, Ribbon's tears finally dried as she was reduced to a sniffling mess. Adeleine hesitated slightly before gently asking, "What should we do?"

The fairy looked defeated. "What _can_ we do? It would be suicide to try to break through them. And the Crystal - the Crystal!" she gasped. "No…if they have the whole Crystal this time..." she trailed off.

Kirby suddenly spoke up with a defiant, "Poyo!" Hopping up to the window, he had his Warpstar in paw.

Guessing his intentions, Ribbon flew over to him quickly, grabbing him before he could hit the release button on the glass dome. He protested.

"No, Kirby. You'll get yourself killed!" He only continued, kicking his feet in hope to get some ground beneath them; or, better yet, his Warpstar. Ribbon hugged him tightly. "Don't leave. I don't know what any of us would do..." she whimpered. Nuzzling him were her head in a tight hug, she whispered, "...what _I_ would do if you were gone."

He finally stopped, thinking over her words. Her voice had sounded so _pained_.

Feeling guilty that he had managed to induce the exact opposite response he had hoped for, he went silent.. Adeleine and the awakened Waddle Dee nodded their agreement as Dedede nodded less than noticeably.

The ship was quiet after this, bobbing only slightly in space as the petals continued to revolve around the vehicle, dispersing small pink sparkles over the dark, cold space.

A shrill, excited laughter broke through the silence, cutting it cleanly.

Ribbon, who was already in an unstable state, hugged Kirby closer to her as the puffball put up a brave face. He recognized it. But, where was it from...?

Adeleine had her hands immediately on the controls, ready to speed out of the place and back to Popstar at a mere moment's notice. The need to know who exactly was mocking her kept her in her place despite her better judgment. The laugh sent a chill down her spine, reverberating to her unsteady hands.

The King and Waddle Dee both looked around, surveying the dark abyss in search, rather frazzled; albeit.

It finally stopped. And the ship was quite again.

The voice took a drawn out breath, seemingly pleased that he had frightened them so. A cold shock passed through all of them.

"Idiots..." it simply said. And that was it.

That was all they heard as their visions blurred into darkness...

* * *

**So...whatcha think? Was it worth the wait? I kinda thought so, seeing as it's one of the few chapters that actually includes the elusive plot...**

**Bah, I know, I feel bad for leaving all of you at a cliffie, two actually. Well, a story needs to have at least ONE cliffhanger, or else it just gets boring after awhile. Next chapter is in the works though. :D So, good news there. I'm not making any promises, though, seeing as how the last one went...yeah....I'll just leave saying that it WILL be up before 2010! ;D **

**...I'm just a bucket of help, ain't I? **

**Reviews are greatly appreaciated! It's also rumored that they lead to increasingly faster updates...(shameless plug is _once again_ shameless! XD)**

* * *


	11. Separated

**Hey guys! It's been - what??? A month almost? Yeah...I'm sorry about that, I've just been on other hypes lately, (Yugioh, Zelda, as well as others...), and so this chapter was left half finished for around that whole time. BUT. During this month or so off of Eternal, I was kinda surprised that it was still getting some alerts and favorites, as well as a review (thanks by the way! :D Also, the reviewer - and you know who you are! - gets a cookie for trying to guess who it was in the Prologue! :D No ones guessed right so far, so I'm still welcoming any guesses! :3), SO, I decided to get off of my lazy butt and look over the chapter, changed some things, added some things - you know, all that jazz.**

**Though, another reason for this absense is because I actually just started High School this month...I really underestimated the homework load...D: It's still exciting though!**

**I warn thee, though...this chappie jumps around a bit. But, also in this chapter, it answers a few questions you may have had as well as added new ones! :D -gets bricked-**

**Alrighty then! Enough of my rambling! Because I'm pretty dang sure that you guys didn't wait a month JUST to hear me talk the whole time!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Kirby...you won't get anything out of me by suing either, I'm broke...T.T**

**And without further adieu... **

* * *

Separated

"You did well, Sword, Blade."

Recognizing the voice, said two Knights briskly rounded on one of the trees in the outer parts of Whispy's Woods.

On one of the outstretching branches, stood their mentor and Lord, Meta Knight. His cape was wrapped comfortably around him, denying his eyes that seemed rather distracted. A hesitate puzzlement as he jumped down to the two.

As he nodded to the two in respect, Blade averted her eyes somewhat. Had he seen her outburst?

Whether he had seen or not, he didn't seem at all concerned with discussing it as he released his cape and released his wings. Galaxia remained it's scabbard, though.

"Sir?"

Meta Knight looked in the direction of Castle Dedede. "We should be going now," he replied, ignoring the fact that he had been there not too long ago.

Sword and Blade nodded. It was best not to argue with the Knight.

As they began to head over, Meta Knight by flight, Sword and Blade by running, Sword happened to flick his eyes over to the Knight. He rose a brow.

While one of his Lord's hands was open, the other was pulled into a tight ball. "Sir?"

Meta Knight kept his eyes forward. "Yes?"

"Your hand," Sword started, somewhat unsure it was even a good idea to ask. "What are you holding?"

The Knight now put his attention on the swordsman. "It's..." he contemplated briefly. "Part of why we're going there."

Sword nodded, although he was mildly disappointed with Meta Knight's answer. He seemed to always leave more questions than answers in his wake.

The rest of the journey was silent, which was a blessing for both Meta Knight and Blade, both for different reasons.

Meta Knight had time to think about the mysterious shard he had found and its potential power. Were there more out in the world? And: would the speed demon return?

Blade, in contrast, simply enjoyed the silence. As each minute that passed, helped her reassure herself that her outburst hadn't been seen by the Knight, even if deep down, she didn't believe it at all.

The three, instead of taking a route right through the village, went straight for the hill, lest the villagers mistake Meta Knight for a demon. They weren't the most calm of creatures.

Arriving at the drawbridge, Meta Knight quickly transformed his wings to his silken cape, catching it as it fell to wrap it around himself. The Waddle Dee's at the gate cried it surprise at seeing the three and waved up to the guards by the crank to lower the drawbridge immediately. They nodded respectfully to the Knights.

Walking through the to the courtyard felt like a jump in time. As if those years had never happened. And that this was simply another day.

The courtyard looked near identical to as it had years before, green and full of Waddle Dee's, guarding the many passageways to the Castle. Waddle Doo nodded sharply to them as he commanded the Waddle Dee.

Making their way to the main gate, they didn't have to go far before they were bombarded by the Parm children, who were just heading out to play.

"Sir Meta Knight! Sword! Blade!" Fumu called, running up to them. Her brother, Bun, followed suit, holding a small red ball.

"You're back!" Bun called. He finished rather pessimistically, though, "Took you long enough..."

"Bun!"

The Knights' smiled. Nothing much seemed to have changed.

"So, are you here to stay this time?" Fumu asked, hopeful to have them back at the Castle.

Sword and Blade were half way through nodding, eager to get back to this life before they were cut off by Meta Knight.

"Well..."

The two children's faces fell.

Meta Knight pulled out his balled up fist to the two.

"It depends..." he responded hesitantly, feeling a stab of guilt in his gut. "Have you seen any of these around?"

Finally opening his fist, the remaining four gasped at the object in Meta Knight's white glove.

It was a Crystal Shard.

* * *

Ribbon slowly fluttered her eyes open.

She shut them tightly soon, coughing suddenly. Her throat burned as if fire had been through it, leaving a less than pleasant wake up call. She shivered.

_Snow? Where...?_

Looking around herself, she was only greeted by rolling hills of white, adorned with many ice sculptures. She recognized it.

"...Shiver Star?"

"Yup."

She rose a brow as she got up to brush the snow off of her. Adeleine, the one who had replied to her, stopped her.

"Don't move, I still need to wrap your arm," she replied simply, bending down with a torn piece of her artist's smock. "Sorry I couldn't find anywhere warmer...I just woke up, too."

The fairy was unconcerned with the last comment, thinking aloud rather hazily like the light fog around her.

"My...arm?" Ribbon looked down to her left arm. She felt a numbness fill her as she gazed at a painfully big gash on her forearm. She may have not felt the pain earlier in the fogginess of being half-awake, but now the pain came ten-fold, pulsing up her arm. The fairy grit her teeth.

Adeleine nodded as she began wrapping her arm with the cloth, "Glad now that you didn't get up?"

Ribbon agreed dryly, wincing as the painter tied it around tightly to halt the bleeding.

"There," Adeleine said, surveying her work. "That should do for now."

The fairy now stood up, unable to sit in the wet snow anymore. Holding her arm lightly, she looked around.

"Where is everyone?"

Adeleine shifted her glance, frowning uneasily as she looked at the vast landscape. "I don't know. I woke up recently and found you sleeping not to far from me. I haven't seen anyone else though."

Ribbon's shoulders drooped. "Oh..." She gazed out in the desert as well, clutching her arm. "...what happened, anyways?"

The painter rose her brows, "You mean...you don't remember?" she asked incredulously. "Must have passed out then..." she sighed. "Well, I'm not too sure on what happened to us either. All I knew was that before I knew it, I had lost control of the ship. Whatever was out there must have attacked us." She gestured out to the snow. "Then I woke up here."

Ribbon nodded slowly. Her big blue eyes fell on her shoes as she mumbled to herself, "Ripple Star is gone...again." Feeling a sudden rush of anger to the enemy that had done it, she kicked the snow in frustration. _It doesn't matter what I do..._she bit her lip sharply. _That..._thing _will always be there...to ruin everything again._

The snow fell down lightly, falling upon the land. Just as if nothing ever happened.

Adeleine took a deep breath as she headed back over to her easel that she had managed to find buried under a blanket of white. Pulling out her brush and paints, she quickly created two red apples. Popping out of the easel and coming to life, she caught both of them and threw one to Ribbon.

She stared at the apple before slowly biting into it. The last time she had eaten was at Ripple Star.

"Sorry, there aren't many things to paint that are red..." The painter commented regretfully. Ribbon looked at her questioningly.

Adeleine sighed, "My red paint was the only one I could find, the rest must have fallen somewhere else. Or buried in the snow," she huffed as she gather the easel and red paint. "Either or..."

"We should eat something before we go searching for the others, as well as somewhere warm," she stated. "It was a miracle we didn't freeze to death already."

The fairy nodded. "Where should we start?"

Adeleine threw the core behind her. "Isn't_ that_ the question of the century..."

* * *

Dedede spit out some sand tiredly. He had never like heat. He had never like the desert. Why did he go with them again?

He sat up and quickly found his hammer lying only a few feet away from him. Pulling it out briskly, he examined it quickly. The King flicked his eyes around perchance only to spot a pair of brown shoes sticking out from the sand, wiggling.

Waddling over, he gripped one and pulled a very uncomfortable Waddle Dee. He spit a mouthful of sand out as if it was water. Dedede chuckled, earning a piercing look from the small puffball's black eyes, demanding to be put down.

Waddle Dee hopped around, getting a look at his surroundings before affirming that it was indeed Rock Star that they were on. The King recognized it as well.

"I remember hating this place the _first_ time around," he commented quickly in an attempt to make some sort of conversation.

"Dwee..." the Waddle Dee mumbled, looking about for any sign that their friends were near. The King began to walk, looking around.

"Now what do we do..." he muttered. Looking about, he could only see desert. The Waddle Dee put a paw up in thought, as they began to walk around, finding the lack of action worse on their already shattered nerves, they were both silent.

"Dwee~!" the brown creature suddenly cried.

The King turned, "What?"

Tapping a foot as he pondered on _how_ exactly to convey his idea to Dedede, he finally settle to making small motions with his paws, trying to draw something in the air. It was in the shape of a diamond.

Dedede clapped his hands together. "Oh yeah! That huge diamond!" Waddle Dee nodded. "At least it's something...Who knows, maybe we'll meet the others there!"

As they began walking, the King attempted to bring back memories from before. "It was across a bridge, wasn't it?"

"Dwee," Waddle Dee replied in agreement.

He thrust his hammer over his shoulder. "Well, if we're done with the sightseeing, let's get going!"

* * *

"_Poyo!_"

Kirby shrieked in pain as he bounced off the rocky planet, being thrust down once more by his opponent. Said opponent resided in the air, wiggling the foot he had kicked the Star Warrior with giddily. He laughed madly.

"He, he, he," he chuckled. "_Somebody's_ a bit out of shape!"

Kirby pushed himself up defiantly, putting up a fighting stance. His blue orbs shifted around for an element to inhale. Nothing. He looked up at his foe once more.

In response, the bat-like creature's grin widened, revealing frightening canines. "Nope," he chuckled. "I've learned from last time!" he shouted the last part as he swooped down upon the Star Warrior.

* * *

The man tapped his finger in a steady tempo.

His nail clicked against the surface, echoing across the vast room. Bouncing off the marble pillars, the spotless floor, the ceiling. Roaming around the torn tapestries, outside through the shattered window, to the dark sky. The sound went down as well, pounding into the women's chest with her own heart beat as she stood shaking in front of the man. Her head was down, gazing at her own reflection upon the spider webbed glass.

He finally stopped, his pale hand laying on the gold arm rest.

The roles had been switched.

* * *

**Yes! What now? I have done the unthinkable, the most vile, the most DESPICABLE! Leaving you guys with nearly FIVE cliff hangers!!! Mwa ha ha ha ha! **

**No, but really, because of that, I'll make sure to get the next chapters up pretty fast...I don't like cliffhangers either...D: Please don't hate me. **

**So far, we've answered basically what happened to the Crystal, what happened to Kirby and co., as well as who attacked them last chapter! (I'm not going to say who, because I'm sure you guys knew LONG before this chapter...) BUT. We have also posed new questions! -evil laugh- What will Meta Knight and co. do? Will Kirby meet up with his friends before the last chapter? And who is the man in the last part??? **

**Well, the second one is obvious...I wouldn't leave poor Kirby alone for that long! Sad day! D:**

**Anywho, any guesses and all guesses for what will happen next are completely welcome! I love hearing what you guys think! But, if you think that you really know who or what's going to happen, send a private note - we don't what to spoil anyone! :P**

**Heh, I TOLD you guys it would speed up from here on out! You had been warned!**

**As always, any mistakes, questions, guesses, or just a 'hi, why are you so lazy???' (please don't send that...D:) are all welcome! Just stop for a review! They make the author happy AND make sure there are no more month long breaks like these! :D They also go well with Victory Cocoa! (I swear I'm going to patent something with that name one day...)**

**Thanks!**


	12. Dark Battle in the Desert

**Hey all! :D Yup, the next chapter is up FINALLY after nearly two whole months!**

**...I hope you're all still here! D: Anywho, I'm really kinda happy with how this chapter turned out! So, I hope that it's worth the wait!**

**Diclaimer: Don't own Kirby! What I do own is the growing plot of this story! ;D**

* * *

Dark Battle in the Desert

It was quite a sight, really.

The stout penguin leader accompanied by a small creature walking slowly in front of the setting sun, reminiscent of two vagabonds meandering through their never ending journey – which was surprisingly close to the truth. The Penguin King, Dedede, had his hammer swung boldly over his right shoulder, daring any enemy that should cross their path to test his strength; his blue bird eyes were set stoic in front of him. The smaller creature, Waddle Dee, kept his paws up, flicking his bead eyes around conveying that he would rather not have to face a foe. His stance was less fierce.

The sun was now slowly getting closer to the growing horizon, spilling across the other colors that graced the skies of the vast desert and gave their hand to the clouds to share the spectrum. The desert itself was barren of such diversity, sands of white, dunes upon dunes.

Dedede suddenly stopped abruptly, holding a hand to shield the blinding sun from his eyes. Waddle Dee, looking elsewhere, bounced off of his back, walking into him; Dedede paid no heed to this.

"I think I see it!" he shouted, indicating the large astral diamond that stood amongst the never ending sand, a landmark for the lost. "At this rate, we should get there before night!" he laughed. Feeling a surge of energy, he began bounding across the desert, calling to Waddle Dee behind him.

Waddle Dee bounced up and ran after the Gung-Ho King, "Dwee~!"

Running across the the desert, they ran with new vigor, their destination getting closer by the passing moment. The diamond before them pulsed with light in a steady rhythm, beckoning them onward.

Arriving at the precipice that separated them from the landmark, Dedede slowed his step as he began walking over the bridge. Having a hard time keeping up before, Waddle Dee was thankful that the King had done so, now settling to a steady and relaxed trot.

Below them, rushing waters could be seen, turned a near sea green from the escaped light that had made it's journey from the bright sun. The waves weren't in a hurry, it appeared, as the water gently brushed upon the rock only a foot from where they began their leap. There appeared to be more vicious waves up ahead, though, that rushed forward, crashing upon everything that stood in their way coaxed out by the rocks from above that fell into the canyon.

Waddle Dee stopped, noticing this. Why would...?

Dedede was unaware of this until he noticed that his friend at remained behind, tugging at the ropes that held the bridge. The creature was perturbed, watching as rock upon rock fell into the water. His eyes were drawn away as Dedede patted him on the head.

"Hey," he reassured, "it's probably nothing that we should be worrying about. Besides, the diamond's just right up ahead," He waddled forward, passing off the occurrence as nothing of interest. Waddle Dee was unconvinced, puzzled; albeit. Sighing, he trotted after the King.

Stopping once more, Dedede suddenly gripped onto the ropes of the bridge. Waddle Dee stopped before running into the King once more and gazed at him questioningly. He soon got an answer to his unspoken question as he latched onto the nearest rope as well. The bridge swung about, the shaking ground passing into the once stable bridge.

Dedede, not at all thrilled with this, lunged out a hand for the stake drove into the ground that held the bridge. Getting a good grip on it, he thrust his other hand out for Waddle Dee to grab onto before he found that the creature had already jumped onto his head, clinging onto the pom-pom on his hat. The King rolled his eyes slightly before using the stake to give them a boost onto the other end.

Although they were now on safe ground, the desert rumbled and shook as the bridge did. They went back to back, looking for the source. Dedede instinctively brought his hammer up, flexing his gloved hands. Waddle Dee set up a brave face, scanning quickly the landscape. His eyes soon locked on a growing cloud of dust and sand before shouting to Dedede. The King's eyes widened as he rounded.

"What in the..." he trailed off, blinking to make sure this wasn't a desert mirage. He soon abandoned this thought, though, as he dryly thought mirages were usually good or helpful, enticing weary travelers to go _toward_ them. This made him want to do the opposite.

He briefly thought of going into the diamond, but his curiosity and shaking – quite literally – feet kept him in place. Waddle Dee gulped as the growing cloud came out of the horizon, making a straight course toward them.

King Dedede did a quick double-take, recognizing the rampaging boars that made their home in the desert. He grimaced. "But why are there so many of them?!" he shouted to no one in particular.

The row of boars took up quite a bit of land, leaving little room to run. They kept on coming, having a death wish against the two, trampling over the land with little care of what they happened to step on on the way.

The King was frozen for this moment, staring into the setting sun with widened eyes. All he was focusing on the rampaging boars, their mad whites, and fierce tusks that stole the once gracing spectrum the sky had.

His hands twitched at their spot at his hammer; he should fight...he could take them. A few pounds here, a few there.

...couldn't he?

Waddle Dee managed to break his eyes from the spectacle and looked toward Dedede desperately, who was stone still. Panicking, Waddle Dee grabbed at his robe, screaming at the penguin to run with shrill cries of, "_Dwee! Dwee~!_"

The King wouldn't move.

As a final move of desperation, the creature hopped up to his shoulder, and taking a deep breath, shouted as loud as he could.

Dedede jumped, jolted out this state. Blinking quickly, he registered what his eyes saw, and grabbed a hold of the Waddle Dee, running toward the diamond, hopeful that the boars wouldn't shift course.

Arriving beneath the recesses of the giant astral landmark, King Dedede spun around quickly with Waddle Dee upon his shoulder.

He sighed with relief, tempted to collapse right then and there. The band of boars remained on their one-way track, soon to pass right by them.

Then something strange happened.

A flash of golden yellow, not unlike that the sun held, could be seen directly in front of the boars and the creatures suddenly set their heels up to stop...

Only to turn directly at the pair and continue their rampage.

Waddle Dee gasped, looking up at the King in hopes that he hadn't been touched with paralysis' bony hand once more.

Instead, King Dedede had a determined glint in his cerulean eyes and a tight grip on his hammer. He readied himself, setting his right foot behind him hard, kicking up a wave of sand. His hammer was set in a fighting position as he waited.

As if the confident aura of the King had been bestowed upon him, Waddle Dee took up a stance with a solid look in his eyes. He would fight with the King. His friend.

Now, they could feel the boar's hot breath, fuming from their nostrils along with the shining energy of the sun. Dedede bent slightly before bounding forward, Waddle Dee followed suit.

Bashing his hammer into the first one that lunged at him, he successfully flung it away from the scene, taking out a few others with it, falling like domino's from the first. He rounded upon another, flipping his hammer to make a side swing, taking out an arc of them.

Waddle Dee was doing surprisingly well for his size, managing to take out multiple ones at a time by jumping on the back of one and steering the crazed beast into the others. Stunning others with a kick of his shoes.

Soon, the hoard began to dwindle considerably. Dedede, becoming surrounded with the majority of the survivors that saw him as the strongest link, spun quickly in an attempt to spin a full three-sixty. However, whenever he did, one would leap at his blind spot and others would take the place of the fallen.

Dedede disdainfully rubbed at a scratch on his blue cheek from one of the boar's hooves. Glancing at his gloved hand, he only saw dapples of blood, proving the cuts to be not nearly as deep as they felt.

Panting heavily, he flicked his eyes around him as the boars began to scrape their sharp hooves against the ground in preparation to attack all at once. This done in synchronization, coaxed a small tremor from the rock landscape to bounce toward Dedede.

He snarled at this. They were taunting him. A tremor in the ground was what allured to their presence in the first place...

"Wait," Dedede whispered. He mentally slapped himself before taking upon a cocky grin on his beak. The boars looked momentarily confused before deciding that now was the time to attack. All of them, encircled around the King, leaped at the him with bared teeth.

Dedede only grinned before jumping up in the air as well with surprising speed, reaching heights above the boars. The beasts all crashed into one on another, knocked senseless as they were left to meander about with dizzying steps. The penguin wasn't done yet, however.

Residing in the air for only a moment before gravity took hold, he came crashing down faster than he went up, sending a devastating tremor to be released and knock the boars off of their feet to lay unconscious on the ground.

He shifted his hammer upon his shoulder triumphantly, "Let's see how you like it..." he scoffed.

Meanwhile, Waddle Dee managed to finish of the remaining two using his technique of riding on into another. Jumping off right before the boars collided, Waddle Dee bounded over to Dedede.

They both did a collective sigh of relief. The King gave a thumbs up to the brown creature, grinning, "Yup," he began, "I'd say we demolished them."

Waddle Dee nodded quickly, "Dwee!"

The King then looked toward the sun, squinting slightly; he leaned on his hammer with one hand, "And," he chuckled, "we even did it before night!" He then proceeded toward the diamond's entrance – a hovering piece of the bottom that emanated an urethral light.

Waddle Dee followed soon after, a pensive look on his face as he pondered the yellow flash they had seen earlier. Whatever it was, it had full control of the boars. He felt shiver go through him, unsure if it was from the coming night or the thought that came next. It was a frightening thought: to control a living creature's very motives and behavior.

King Dedede hopped aboard, Waddle Dee following suit as it magically floated upward, allowing them entrance to the diamond.

The sun's light that leaked aboard began to fade away as they rose higher. It's attempts at remaining with the two soon proved futile as they reached the boundaries of its limits.

Soon, it was pitch dark.

* * *

As the glowing lights took hold in the tower, King Dedede and Waddle Dee felt the new light bounce off of their features with little warmth as the neon colors lit their bodies with collages of red, blue, and purple.

King Dedede shifted about, his hammer resting on his shoulder, half expecting sparks of energy to come at them as they had before. He was mildly surprised to see not even one come flying at him with intent to burn; but, what he was truly surprised to see was that the guns themselves were gone from their places. He looked over to Waddle Dee, who had noticed as well, hopping about for even a sign of them.

Catching the King's look, her lifted his paws in a shrugging motion, passing it off as a pleasant surprise.

Arriving at the top of the area, Dedede and Waddle Dee raised their gazes upward to the even darker passage. The red, blue, and purple slowly faded off, returning to their homes of neon that laced the diamond's interior. The light, the colors, the glow...

Was gone as everything went black before their eyes.

* * *

**...the chapter title has more than one meaning...**


End file.
